Sometimes things are great, and then you have a moment of wait, what if things are TOO great? And you stress out until you tell yourself you’re gaslighting yourself, and you start to relax.
And that’s when the universe strikes.
Things were too great. And then the City of New Orleans decided to tow my car for LIES.
New Orleans Bartenders be like “You come here every week? Cool, I’m gonna go take a shit, make sure no one steals.” And then LEAVE THE BAR IN THE HANDS OF THE REGULARS
April Lewis met Dr. Ray Stantz one brisk afternoon in 1982, near the fountain at Columbia University. From the moment the artistic student met the eccentric lecturer, they had become friends; friends with the promise of something more.
As time goes by the two will become closer and closer, inspiring late night conversations, shared holidays, and weeks without leaving the others company.
Despite their differences, the opposite nature of their personalities, the artist, and the scientist can't deny the age old adage: Opposites attract, and sometimes two things so different can come together to make something wonderful.
Takes place before the events of Ghostbusters through the first movie- slow burn.
Words: 4177
AO3 Link
The day when April went to get the book from Ray’s office, she admittedly dressed a little cuter than she normally would. She had her final class at one and by two fifteen she was standing at the door to the lab of doctors Venkman, Spengler and Stantz. She knocked on the door and then opened it, easing herself into a lab that was filled, absolutely filled with things. She didn’t think she could name even a handful of the things sitting on the shelves, all obviously custom made and serving some purpose that she couldn’t even imagine. A head popped out from between a couple shelves and she smiled seeing Dr. Spengler.
“April,” he said as he stepped out from behind the shelf. “Ray just ran to the store, he should be back in about ten minutes,”
“Oh, okay,” she nodded before looking around the lab. “This is… Quite a lab,”
“Yes, well,” he said slowly as he looked around. “It’s been helpful to have a place to design the equipment needed to test our hypothesis,”
“I can imagine,” April said as she walked over to a helmet looking thing with wires sticking out of it. “What’s this do?”
“That is a work in progress,” he said as he stepped up next to her. “Ideally it would digitize the wearers thoughts,”
“You can do that?” she asked as she looked up at him with wide eyes, excited at the thought of it.
“Well,” he shrugged one shoulder. “Not yet,”
“That’s so cool Dr. Spengler,” she said as she looked back at it, but kept her hands in her pockets, not wanting to tempt herself to touch things, in case it were to ruin them.
“It will be if we can get it working,” he agreed. “I tried using it on Ray, but I think his brain works at a higher frequency, and I know mine does, we need someone who hasn’t had as much advanced education as we have- like you,” he said and she frowned slightly, but then smiled as she nodded.
“I’ll take that as a compliment?” she asked uncertainty, and he looked at her quickly.
“I’m not calling you unintelligent.”
“Just uneducated,”
“Well,” he said as he lifted his hands. “You are currently in a place of education. Why would you be here unless it was to get educated?”
“Touche,” she agreed.
“So will you try it?”
“Oh, was that you asking?” she asked with a smirk and he blinked at her blankly. “Yes, I’ll try it,” she conceded and he seemed to perk up a little at her acquiesce. Egon moved and got a tall stool before setting it down near the helmet.
“Please, sit,” he said and she did just that. “I’m going to attach a few sensors to your head,” he said before he grabbed a box of what looked like EKG stickers and began to place them on her temples, one between her eyes, and one on the back of her neck, right at the hairline. After he’d done that, he began to attack wires to them. “Hold this please,” Dr. Spengler said as he handed her a thick bundle of wires.
“Want me to untangle these?” she asked and he hesitated, looking at the bundle before shaking his head.
“That’s not necessary,” he replied and she chuckled softly before nodding and just holding the bundle on her lap. He would occasionally reach for a cord and then work at attaching them to the stickers attached to her head, by the time he was done, she was in a tangle of wires wrapped around her arm or under her arm, and then Dr. Spengler put the helmet on her head. She glanced up at it with a slight smile, briefly wondering what she had gotten herself into, but honestly, it was kind of amusing to her.
April hummed softly while he worked and then started to connect the ends of the cables attached to her head to points on the helmet before he hooked up a large cable from the helmet to a computer at a desk near her.
“Are you ready?” he asked and she nodded.
“Sure- this isn’t going to hurt is it?” she asked and he hesitated before he tilted his head slightly.
“It… shouldn’t,” he finally said and she smiled slightly.
“You’re not instilling me with a lot of confidence Dr. Spengler,” she said bluntly and he sighed.
“Bedside manner isn’t my strongest suit,”
“Just say it won’t hurt,” she replied.
“It shouldn’t hurt,” he repeated, sounding a little more confident and she nodded.
“Okay,” she said before lifting her hands slightly. “Go ahead.”
He clicked on a command on the computer, her back was to him, so she couldn’t see what he was doing, and she guessed he wouldn’t want her moving around too much. “April, I want you to think of a number and a color,” he told her as he sat at his desk and began to type a few commands.
“Okay,” she said as she did just that.
“Okay,” he said and she tapped her fingers against her knees. “Now, I’m thinking, if I can just-” he stepped over to her and began to adjust something on part of the helmet. As he worked on that, the door opened and she heard someone else walk into the lab.
“Hey Egon,” she heard Ray’s voice as he walked in. “Sorry that took a minute, I was talking to Alberto at the shop,” he explained as he walked further into the room before stopping. “April,” she turned her head, annoying Dr. Spengler if the small scoff he let out was something to go by.
“Hi,” she smiled as she lifted a hand. “I’m helping,”
“I can see that,” Ray smiled as he walked further into the room and towards her. “How you doing in that?”
“It’s kinda heavy,” she said as she rolled her eyes up to catch a glimpse of the edge of the helmet and then lowered her eyes to his again. “I feel like a cosmonaut,” he chuckled at that before turning to look at the screen of the computer.
“Well, it can tell you’re thinking,” he said as he stepped over to the computer. “Are you thinking of a number and a color?”
“Uh, I was,” she said. “But you distracted me.”
“Sorry,” he apologized but she could hear the smile in his voice.
“No you’re not,” she replied and he laughed softly.
“Okay, seriously, concentrate,” he said and she began to focus on the number and the color she had picked. “Egon,” Ray said and Egon stepped away from her to go look at what Ray was looking at.
“Hm,” he said. “Interesting.”
“Is it working?” she asked.
“Not quite,” Ray admitted. “Concentrate a little harder?”
“Okay,” she said before doing just that, visualizing the color and the number before she cleared her throat.
“Maybe if I make another adjustment,” Egon mumbled as one of them typed something.
“Hey,” April said but the guys were too busy focusing on the screen.
“Maybe if we switched to a thicker wire-”
“I was thinking a smaller gauge,” Egon replied.
“Hey guys?” she tried again.
“That’s true, we did just get that new spool-”
“Is this thing supposed to be hot?” April interjected and they were quiet for a moment, Ray glanced at Egon behind April’s back and Egon shook his head before Ray stepped in front of her with a smile.
“We’re gonna just take this off,” he said easily as he unbuckled the buckle under her chin and then lifted the helmet off of her head. She smiled as he did so before she gave him a sympathetic look as he handed the helmet to Egon.
“Sorry it didn’t work,” she said and he shook his head.
“No no, don’t you be sorry,” he said. “We have some ideas for working on it,”
“So I did help?” she asked as Ray was getting the wires from the stickers on her head.
“Oh yeah,” he assured her, ignoring the look Egon was giving him. “Yeah, of course you did,” he said as he detached the three wires from the front of her head and then reached up and touched her shoulder. She glanced up at him and drew in a breath as he moved his hand to the back of her neck. He moved in closer to her and using both hands, he undid the wire on the back of her neck before letting it fall to the floor. She glanced up at him, swallowing as she did as she felt his thumb brushing over the edge of the sticker, gently running along her neck before he glanced down at her. “Want me to get that off?” he asked and she blinked a few times, it took her a moment before she realized he had asked if she wanted him to get that off- that. The sticker.
“Please,” she nodded and he gently peeled the sticker off of the back of her neck before pulling away from her and tossing it into a waste bin. She reached up and peeled off the other stickers before tossing them as well. When she did she rolled her neck, happy that the heavy helmet was off of her head, but missing the closeness of Ray who was looking at the screen with Egon again. The two were talking lowly together and she bit her lip before she glanced at the clock. “If you guys want to keep working on that- I can take the book and go?” she offered and Ray looked over at her before he straightened up.
“Oh, no no, let me get you that book,” he said before he went to a shelf and picked up the book. It was a thick volume and she was excited to look through it. When he handed it to her, she placed it on her lap and smiled at him.
“So, see you later?” she asked slowly and he glanced at Egon who cleared his throat.
“Ray, I’m going to head to the hardware store,” Egon said as he grabbed a few things. “We’re still on for tonight?”
“Yeah, yeah definitely,” Ray said and Egon nodded before glancing at April and then back to Ray who gave him a smile and a nod before he walked out of the lab. When he was gone April smiled down at the book in her lap and then glanced up at Ray again. “So-“ he said at the same time she started to say:
“You didn’t have to-“ they both stopped and laughed awkwardly before he gestured to a table close to the door.
“Want to see some new spirit photography I got in this morning?” He asked and she smiled as she slipped off of the stool and walked over to the table.
“Yeah,” she walked over and sat down next to him as he pulled a folder towards him and opened it.
The next forty minutes were spent with Ray showing her different pictures of supposed spirit photography, and explaining the difference between each instance of grades of photography, which led him to telling her about the different types of apparitions he was studying. She listened as he drew a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit a cigarette, and then offered her the pack, when he lit it, it was with a black lighter she noticed and smiled.
“What got you into this?” April asked and he sighed as he blew out a stream of smoke.
“My grandparents,” he said finally. “My great-grandfather was a famous medium in Ottawa, but my grandfather met a girl on vacation from Long Island, so he followed her down and married her. He was always a believer in the paranormal, and when I was a kid I’d spend a lot of time with him. My brother and sister always wanted to go to camp or go on vacations, but I liked spending time with my grandparents. Family’s always been important to me,” he explained.
“That sounds nice,” she smiled and he nodded.
“It was- my grandma died when I was nine, and then I would go spend weekends and every school break I could with him,”
“That’s really sweet Ray,” she said as she put her hand on his forearm. He smiled a little and took another drag from his cigarette.
“When he died I was twelve and we moved back into that house- I was born in that house,” he chuckled softly and she smiled as she thought about that.
“So you live on Long Island?”
“Yeah,” he confirmed and she grinned slightly.
“Where?”
“Oh, near Great Neck,” he shrugged.
“I grew up in Astoria,” she smiled and he let out a small laugh.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah!” She grinned. “Do you still live there?”
“Yeah- you?”
“No, well, I mean my parents do,” she shrugged. “But you know, I’m in college, I don’t want to live with my parents forever,”
“Yeah- I get that,” he nodded. “Are you guys still close?”
“Mm, not really,” she shrugged. “I mean, we could be closer, but my mom is… kind of a lot,”
“Hm,” he said softly as he looked at her. “Sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah well, you know,” she shrugged and took another drag from her cigarette. “How about you, are you close with your parents?”
“No,” he sighed. “No, they died eight years ago,” he explained and she winced.
“Oh god- I’m so sorry,” she said and he gave her a slight shrug.
“Yeah, it was hard- but they left me the house; though, I guess technically my grandpa left me the house,” he explained.
“Well that was nice of him,”
“Tell that to my siblings,” he chuckled lightly. “They were not thrilled about that.”
“Oh no? Are you guys not close?” She asked and he tilted his head back and forth before he stood up and walked over to a refrigerator she hadn’t noticed and pulled out two cans of beer.
“Not really,” he said as he walked back over to the table, setting both of the beers on the table. She reached forward and cracked them both open as he sat down and he cast her a smile. “Thanks,”
“No problem, it's instinct- I bartend sometimes,” she shrugged.
“Oh yeah? Where at?”
“There’s a place a couple streets away- a dive bar, Spiro’s,” she said as she took a sip of the beer in front of her.
“Oh, I haven’t been there in awhile,” he said as he smiled slightly, rubbing his chin at the memory of the place. “Do they still do fifty cent cigarettes?”
“Cheapest place in the city,” she smiled with a nod.
“I may have to come back by sometime,” he said with a grin and she smiled.
“Okay, but only if you promise to come in when I’m working,” she said as she leaned forward and laid a hand on his arm. He smiled as he looked over at her before nodding.
“Why else would I go to Spiro’s if not to see you and get fifty cent cigarettes?” he asked as he leaned in as well, whispering as if he was telling her some secret.
She smiled at him and he gave her a slight wink before she picked up her beer and took a sip as he grinned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ray and April talked for hours, going through a pack of cigarettes together as they talked about all sorts of things and it wasn’t until the door opened behind them that they realized how much time had actually passed. They both looked at the door and April saw the pockmarked face of Dr. Venkman as he turned into the room and looked at the both of them.
“Oh- Pete,” Ray said as he looked over. “I thought we were meeting at the bar?”
“We were,” Dr. Venkman said as he nodded. “I was just picking up a couple things,” he explained before glancing at April who gave him a slight smile. She looked down at the pack of cigarettes and opened it before sighing when she realized it was empty. “You uh, you look like you’re already getting started though,” Venkman said as he glanced at Ray with a slight smile.
“Oh- well, yeah we had a couple beers,” Ray shrugged as he glanced back at April, and noticing the pout at the lack of cigarettes he grinned and handed her the cigarette he’d been smoking. She accepted it and took a drag before offering it back while Venkman watched the two closely. Oh this was interesting.
“Why don’t you invite your little friend out with us?” Venkman suggested and Ray looked over at April who glanced at Ray and then to Venkman.
“Um, sure,” she said as she looked back at Ray. “I mean, I don’t have any plans- and it is a weekend.”
“You sure you want to come hang out with a bunch of lecturers?” he asked and she smiled.
“What because it’ll be so different from what we’ve been doing all day?” she asked softly and he grinned before shrugging slightly.
“Touche,” he agreed and she took another drag from the cigarette before handing it back to him. “Did we decide where we’re going?” Ray asked as he looked at Venkman who shrugged.
“I think we figured we’d just go to Fox and the Henhouse,” he replied and April wrinkled her nose. It was a sort of Irish themed pub that was always crawling with students since it was only a block from the school.
“No, let’s go to Spiro’s,” Ray said and Venkman looked at him like he was crazy.
“Spiro’s?” he asked. “Why the hell would we go there?”
“Who doesn’t like Spiro’s?” Ray asked. “They’ve got cheap beer, cheap cigarettes, a pool table,”
“And no women Ray,” Peter replied quickly, making Ray roll his eyes.
“There are so women there- plus it’s Friday, I’m sure there’ll be tons of girls!”
There were not tons of girls at Spiro’s, but there was cheap beer and cheap cigarettes, which April bought a pack of instantly and then carried over two pitchers of beer with four glasses tucked under her arms.
“Here,” Ray said as he stood up and grabbed the pitchers from her, allowing her to set the glasses she’d had pressed against her body with her elbows down.
“Thanks,” she said gratefully before sitting in one of the brown rickety chairs, decades old green leather padding on the seat of the chair gave the illusion of comfort, but it was just as hard as the original wood was. It was just the kind of place Spiro’s was, and she loved it.
“So,” Ray said as April poured the beer into the glasses. “I was talking with April about the idea of digitizing thoughts, and she mentioned it may be easier to do with the test subject asleep,”
“That’s an interesting thought,” Egon said, hopping onto the idea. “April, would you be willing to let us hook you up and then watch you while you sleep?”
“Uh,” she laughed slightly as she passed a beer to Egon. “I don’t know about that Dr. Spengler,” she said slowly as she handed a beer to Venkman. “Who exactly would I be letting watch me sleep?”
“Ray and myself,” he replied.
“Oh, am I not invited to this little sleepover?” Venkman asked as he nodded to April as he took his beer.
“You told us we were crazy for trying to digitize thoughts,” Ray said as he frowned at Venkman.
“Well if you’re going to be trying to see what the co-ed’s dreaming about, I think I have a right to see it too,” Venkman replied.
“I don’t think you’d all fit in my bedroom,” April sniggered as she handed Ray a beer and then sat down again, sitting comfortably at the small square table between Ray and Dr. Spengler. “My bed and dresser barely fit in there,”
“Ah life in the dorms,” Venkman said as he sipped his beer and April unwrapped her softpack of cigarettes. She held it out to Ray who tapped the edge and pulled out a smoke before popping the end into his mouth. She did the same and he held out his lighter, letting her light her cigarette first, her hand resting on his wrist as she did.
Venkman and Egon watched the scene in front of them closely, the two were getting fairly comfortable with each other it would seem, and Venkman tossed a look at Egon who lifted his eyebrows and took another sip of his beer. It would seem the two were in agreement about their friend and his new friend and they didn’t need a thought digitizer to know that.
A little while later, a group of girls did come in and Peter excused himself to go talk to them while Egon stayed, observing Ray and April as the three of them talked. “No, I’m not saying dreams literally transport you somewhere else, but isn’t it an exciting idea, the idea of your subconscious being transported somewhere else while you’re sleeping?” she asked as she crossed one leg over the other and looked at Egon who couldn’t help the small smile tugging at his lips.
“You’re thinking of astral projection.”
“I’m thinking of interdimensional projection,” she replied and he reached out to take the pitcher of beer and pour the rest of it into April’s glass. “Mm, thank you Dr. Spengler.”
“Egon,” he said and she tilted her head. “You can call me Egon,”
“Egon,” she repeated and he nodded while Ray lit himself a new cigarette. “German name, means Sword?” she said slowly, as if she was trying to remember something.
“Sword’s Edge, or strong with a sword,” he replied and she nodded.
“That’s right,”
“How do you know that?” Ray asked as he looked at April who turned and smiled at him.
“Egon Schiele was one of my favorite painters growing up,” she explained. “He was Austrian, and I used to spend a lot of time at the library,”
“The one on Astoria?” he asked and she grinned before nodding.
“What other library would I go to?” she asked and he smiled as she took a sip of her beer.
“He was quite ahead of his time,” Egon said, drawing both of their attention back to the fact that he was there.
“Oh definitely,” April said as she leaned forward and ashed her cigarette in the ashtray. “The sexuality in his paintings was truly tragic,”
“How do you mean?” Ray asked and she sighed.
“There’s a theory in the art world that he was gay,” she explained. “Or at least- what is it when you like both?”
“Bisexual,” Egon supplied and she nodded.
“Yeah, that,” she said as she pointed at him and he nodded while Ray looked at his friend with raised eyebrows.
“Why do you know that?” he asked and Egon shrugged as he sipped his beer.
“It’s linguistics Ray, Bi the Latin prefix of both, and sexual is fairly self explanitory,” he explained and April smiled as she leaned her chin in the palm of her hand.
“I think Ray was just worried you weren’t telling him everything Egon,” she explained and he snorted slightly.
“I am not keeping anything from you Raymond,” he said bluntly. “And being that I’m at the tail end of a divorce- I’m also not exploring any sexuality,”
“Boo,” April said as she stood up. “I’m gonna get us a couple more pitchers,”
“I’ll come with you,” Ray said as he stood as well and grabbed one of the pitchers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The two made their way to the bar and Egon sipped his drink as he watched them walk. As they left, Venkman walked over and plopped down in his formerly vacated seat before he looked over at the two and then back at Egon. “What do you think- are they already sleeping together?”
“No, I don’t think they are,” Egon said as he watched the two at the bar.
“But they want to be,”
“He definitely does,” Egon nodded. “And pupillary response from her along with the way she leans towards him when she talks or the touches indicate she does as well,” he said before looking at Peter.
“Well, it’s been awhile for him,” Peter said as he sipped his beer.
“I don’t think it’s just that,” Egon said as he glanced back at Ray. “I think he may like her.”
“Like he liked Grace?”
“Oh no,” Egon said with a shake of his head. “He and Grace were never like this.”
“Hm,” Venkman said as he glanced over at the bar where April was laughing at something Ray had said and put her hand on his shoulder. “How long do you think it’ll take him to notice?” Egon snorted and Venkman smirked before glancing back at him. “Fifty bucks he doesn’t realize it for at least a year,”
“You’re on,” Egon agreed before reaching over to shake Peter’s hand.
You ever just have one of those moments where your current hyper-fixation takes a hard left and you’re left staring at whatever new thing your brain is focused on like… Really??? This???
April Lewis met Dr. Ray Stantz one brisk afternoon in 1982, near the fountain at Columbia University. From the moment the artistic student met the eccentric lecturer, they had become friends; friends with the promise of something more.
As time goes by the two will become closer and closer, inspiring late night conversations, shared holidays, and weeks without leaving the others company.
Despite their differences, the opposite nature of their personalities, the artist, and the scientist can't deny the age old adage: Opposites attract, and sometimes two things so different can come together to make something wonderful.
Takes place before the events of Ghostbusters through the first movie- slow burn.
Words: 1677
AO3 Link
April didn’t see Ray again for another week, by then it was cooler more days than it wasn’t, and she had gone from cute blouses to comfortable sweaters, always with her brown leather jacket over them. She pulled out hats and scarves and gloves in preparation for the cold months ahead, and started to wear wool socks that make it hard to shove her feet into her shoes, but she was comfortable. She loved the fall.
The resurgence of Ray took place one Thursday afternoon when she was studying in the library. She sat at her table, reading a book and making notes when she saw someone out of her peripheral walking by her table before they paused and backed up. So they were standing just next to the chair she was sitting in. Glancing up she smiled when she realized it was Ray and he smiled down at her. “Hey,” he said softly and she tucked a piece of strawberry blonde hair behind her ear.
“Hey yourself,” she replied, equally as softly.
“That seat taken?” He asked, pointing to the seat across from her and she shook her head.
“No, please,” she said and he settled himself into the chair across from her. “How’ve you been?”
“Good,” he nodded. “Yeah, real good, I uh, I pulled aside that book for you, but then I realized, I didn’t have any way to tell you.”
“So you’ve just been stalking the library, hoping you’d run into me?” She teased and he shrugged.
“More or less,” he teased back and she grinned. “What are you working on?”
“Oh- it’s for my thesis,” she explained. “I’m trying this technique my friend Amanda told me about where during your fall semester you get as much studying done for it, and then in your spring semester you work on writing it,”
“Huh, wish I had heard about that when I was writing my thesis,” he said as he looked at the book she was reading.
“Yeah I bet,” she joked. “She heard about it on some radio show she listens to about college life.”
“They have that?” He asked and she shrugged.
“Apparently,”
“Huh,” he said simply. “Well, if you want to come pick up that book later, I’ll be in the office this afternoon,”
“I’d like that,” she said with a nod and he smiled as he stood up.
“I’ll see you later then,”
“Okay, yeah,” she said as he started to walk away. When he walked past her, April couldn’t help but turn around and watch him walk, until he turned to look back at her. She turned quickly back to her book and a moment later Ray approached her table again and sat back down. “You’re back,” she commented and he nodded.
“I’m back,” he said before setting his book down on the table. “I realized I didn’t tell you where our office is,”
“You didn’t,” she confirmed and he chuckled a little.
“Mind if I uh-“ he gestured to the notebook in front of her and she flipped it to a fresh page and slid it over to him. He took it and wrote down a few things before he slid it back to her- his office room, the building it was in, and- she glanced back up at him after reading the phone number and he shrugged. “In case your babysitter needs you to come home early, and you can’t make it,”
“My babysitter is gone for the long weekend,” she replied as she smiled at him.
“Good,” he said. “So you should be able to come get the book,”
“Definitely,” she said and he stood up and walked away again. A few moments later he returned to his seat and she laughed softly as he sat back down.
“So here’s the thing,” he said and she nodded.
“Mhmm,”
“I don’t have anything to do for the rest of the afternoon- not really,”
“Just got your book?” She asked as she nodded to the book in his hands.
“That’s right.” He agreed. “So maybe, if it’s okay with you, I can read it here? While you’re studying? I promise not to be distracting,”
“I don’t mind a distraction every now and then,” she assured him as she leaned forward, her elbows on the table, her chin in her hands. “Especially if it gets me away from art history and architecture,”
“Is that your major?”
“Mhmm,” she nodded.
“So if you want to get away from it- why study it?”
“My parents,” she explained. “They wouldn’t pay for me to go to college unless I’d be getting a degree I could use,” she sighed.
“Oh yeah because that’s a very in demand degree.”
“As far as they’re concerned, it is,” she said. “It’s better than a degree in the visual arts in their mind,”
“Hm,” he said. “Visual arts, so…”
“Painting,” she nodded. “I’m a painter,”
“Oh, wow,” he smiled. “So what kind of stuff do you like to paint?”
“Oh god,” she sighed. “Well, I’ve been having a little fun with pop art, but I love impressionist art,” she said as she twirled her pencil around her fingers. “And abstract, I love abstract art,” she sighed.
“Pop art like soup cans?” He asked and she snorted.
“Andy did it once, no one needs to do it again,” she said with a grin.
“So what kind of job do they want you to get with a degree in Art History and Architecture?”
“I don’t know, working at a museum,” she shrugged.
“Oh a friend of mine works at a museum,” he said simply and she nodded.
“That’s the kind of thing they think I should do- work at a museum, then I can look at the art, but I’m not throwing my life away by trying to make it big,” she sighed as she waved a hand as if waving off the thought.
“Ah, I’m sorry,” he said gently.
“It’s not your fault,” she assured him. “It just kinda sucks knowing that your family doesn’t get you- you know?”
“Oh I know,” he chuckled. “I have a doctorate in parapsychology and metallurgy,” he grinned. “And I dropped out of the seminary to get them,”
“Oh man, Catholic school dropout,” she teased and he laughed softly.
“It felt wrong being there in the first place- I was never much of a religious person,”
“I get that,” she nodded before chewing her lip. “Okay, so I’m curious-“
“What is parapsychology?” He supplied and she grinned.
“No, actually,” she said tartly and he raised his eyebrows. “What’s metallurgy?”
“Okay, sorry- most people are more thrown by the parapsychology,”
“So it’s something I should know about?”
“Not necessarily- you mention psychology, and people start telling you all their problems or hoping you can prescribe them Valium or something,” he shrugged.
“Oh, so you can’t?”
“I’m not that kind of doctor,” he grinned and she fake snapped her fingers like she was disappointed, earning a laugh from him. “Sorry, but what I am is an expert in different processes of metal, and architecture,” he smiled slightly, making her smile.
“Hm,” she said as she rested her elbow on the desk between them and her chin in the palm of her hand. “Well, maybe you can help me study sometime? If you’re free?”
“Maybe I’d like that,” he agreed and she grinned. “So uh- do you believe in the paranormal?”
The next few hours were spent talking about everything. From aliens to voodoo, they talked about so much, and her studying was pushed to the wayside. It was only when a library assistant came up to them to inform them that the library was closing that they realized how much time had passed.
April settled on checking out the book, and Ray followed her to the desk, and when they’d both checked their books out and walked out of the library, she sighed as she pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket. Ray was fast with a light and she leaned forward, touching his hands to accept it. “You should be careful about white lighters,” she said as she glanced at the lighter.
“Why?”
“They say Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon and Janis Joplin all died with a white lighter in their pockets,” she said and he blinked at that before turning and throwing the lighter into the bushes. “Oh my- don’t do that!” She laughed as she touched his arm.
“That’s two lighters you’ve cost me,” he said as he pointed at her and she laughed before shaking her head.
“No way, I offered you your lighter back, you said no!”
“Okay, you’re right about that,” he conceded with a grin before he stepped closer to her. “Got a light?” he asked and she laughed before pulling out his old lighter from her pocket. “Oh I recognize that- my lighter!”
“Uh, my lighter,” she replied and he grinned.
“You’re right, that is your lighter,” he agreed as she lit the cigarette for him.
“Seriously, you can have it back,” she offered and he shook his head.
“No no, you keep it,” he said as he put his hand over hers.
“Okay,” she nodded as she slipped it into her pocket.
“So, do you want to come back to the lab?” he asked as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder. She chewed her lip for a moment before smiling softly at him.
“How about tomorrow?” she offered gently. “It’s kinda late…”
“Oh yeah,” he agreed as if he had just realized how late it was. “Of course,” he chuckled softly and then backed up a step. “So, tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow,” she nodded and he smiled before clearing his throat.
“Do uh- do you live far?”
“Oh no, I’m just five minutes away,” she assured him before taking a drag of her cigarette. “I’ll see you tomorrow,”
“Okay, yeah, see you tomorrow,” he agreed and she gave him a small wave. “Get home safe,”
“Thanks,” as she turned away she couldn’t help the grin that broke across her face as she walked home.
April Lewis met Dr. Ray Stantz one brisk afternoon in 1982, near the fountain at Columbia University. From the moment the artistic student met the eccentric lecturer, they had become friends; friends with the promise of something more.
As time goes by the two will become closer and closer, inspiring late night conversations, shared holidays, and weeks without leaving the others company.
Despite their differences, the opposite nature of their personalities, the artist, and the scientist can't deny the age old adage: Opposites attract, and sometimes two things so different can come together to make something wonderful.
Takes place before the events of Ghostbusters through the first movie- slow burn.
Words: 4740
AO3 Link
September 1982
The beeping of the alarm clock next to the bed is universally agreed upon to be one of the most annoying sounds in the universe. It rips one from the land between awake and dreams, a place where anything can happen, and where all are truly equal. The shrill beep of the dreaded alarm clock cut through the subconscious, and after a moment of battle between ignoring the sound or giving into it, a slender hand slipped out from beneath the catherine wheel pattern quilt and pressed the button on the top of the alarm clock. Five more minutes of sleep, but sleep was not coming back- finally, against her will, April Lewis slipped out of bed, her feet recoiling at the cool floor. She whined and then reached into the bottom of the bed, reaching around until she was able to pull her rolled up socks from the night before and shove them back onto her feet.
Hands ran over her face, rubbing the sleep from gray, half lidded eyes, then moved up to run through messy, strawberry blonde hair, running her fingers through it as she yawned widely and then stumbled out of the bedroom- if you could call the over-glorified closet that the apartment manager swore up and down was a bedroom just that- before she moved to the door and opened it to the hall. The sweet somewhat bitter smell of coffee assaulted her senses as she let out a sleepy smile and then made her way to the bathroom, the shower was running and April walked in and lifted the lid of the toilet before pushing down gray cotton shorts and plopping down to do her morning routine.
“Morning,” Amanda said from inside the shower and April grumbled. “Aww, too early? How late were you up last night?”
“Not as late as you, what time did you finally turn- turn off your light?” April stifled another yawn as she got some toilet paper and then stood up and flushed.
“Oh- Every morning?!”
“Sorry!” she laughed as Amanda shoved the head of the shower away from her.
“I was up late studying for your information.”
“The semester just started,” April replied as she got her toothbrush and added some toothpaste before she began to scrub her teeth.
“And I have the LSATs in five months, which means, I only have five months to study- and as you know, if I want to get into Law School, I need to impress the schools with the best LSAT scores I can get.”
“Oh please, keep talking about this, it’s like another morning with my parents,” April said sarcastically after spitting into the sink.
“You better get used to it because I will keep talking about it, thank you.” Amanda said before the water turned off. “Hand me my towel,”
April grabbed the blue towel and tossed the end of it over the top of the shower. Amanada pulled it in and a moment later she opened the shower curtain and grabbed her hair towel before bending over, flipping her auburn hair into the towel and twisting it up. “What class do you have this morning?” April asked as she began to wash her face, hopefully changing the subject from the LSATs while Amanda walked behind her and grabbed her own blue toothbrush and began to brush her teeth. Amanda began to talk through her mouthful of toothpaste and April smiled slightly as she washed her face off.
The two had met three years ago as freshmen at Columbia, they had ended up being roommates, and despite how different the two were, they quickly became friends, and through their three years together, that had transformed to best friends. April dried her face off on the end of Amanda’s hair towel, and Amanda laughed as she elbowed April. “Will you get off me?” she asked making April laugh in response. She loved terrorizing her Type-A friend, who despite her annoyance, always let April get away with it.
After her morning routine of cleaning up and terrorizing Amanda, April went back to her room and changed from her pajamas to a fresh outfit for the day. It was a nice fall day, and she had a class at ten, so with a longing look to her paint-stained t-shirt, she changed into a pair of slacks and a sweater. She tossed on her brown leather jacket and ran a brush through her hair before she separated it and put the hair into braids and threw on a pair of boots to tie the look all together. She bent down and straightened up her bed, and then kicked her disheveled clothes into the pile of other clothes that had to be bagged and taken to the laundromat, before walking again out of her bedroom and down the hall. Whoever said this apartment was a double had a sick sense of humor and after walking out of the bedroom she was already practically in the living room.
With the biggest window in the apartment, April had taken over the corner closest to the window, her shelf of paints, brushes and a stack of stretched canvases leaned against the wall, the adjustable easel she’d saved for sitting close to the window so she could paint with natural light- or whatever natural light she could since it was so rare that their shitty apartment, tucked in between a bar and a bodega, they were lucky if they got three hours of natural light a day. She stared longingly at the easel as she poured herself some coffee from the percolator and Amanda walked out of her room, dressed smartly and ready for her day.
“Don’t even think about it Missy,” she said and April rolled her eyes as she sipped her coffee.
“Yes Mother,” she replied sarcastically.
“What time is your last class?”
“Two,” April said, blowing on the steaming coffee softly.
“Okay, you’ll be home before me,” she said. “If my mom calls, tell her I’m at a class.”
“Where will you be?”
“At a class.” April looked away from the easel and scoffed, making Amanda roll her eyes.
“So basically, if your mom calls- tell the truth?”
“Yes please,”
“Got it,” April rolled her eyes before sipping the coffee again. “I think we need a new percolator.”
“I know, is it just me or is the coffee starting to taste… rusty?”
“That’s what it is!” April snapped her fingers and Amanda laughed. “Whatever, still better than the campus coffee.”
“Bodega coffee is better than campus coffee,”
“No kidding,” April agreed before looking at the clock, they still had twenty minutes before they had to be out the door and she glanced at her easel again. “You know we have like twenty minutes before we have to go…”
“Absolutely not.” Amanda said and April scoffed. “No! April, you told me you wanted to be better about managing your time this year,”
“That doesn’t mean I want you to be the supreme overlord of the clock,”
“Well, tough titties,”
“God you’re going to be such a great lawyer,” April said dryly and Amanda grinned brilliantly.
“I know right?” April scoffed at that and then moved around the kitchen, making herself a bagel. The old Italian woman upstairs occasionally would have a fight with her son, and then she’d bake for the entire building, so they had fresh bagels, and April was more than happy to accept the fresh bagels from the old woman. She grabbed the schmear from in the fridge and as she closed it, her eyes landed on a flier for a lecture she’d grabbed when in the bookstore a few days before.
“Oh, do we still want to go to this lecture tonight?” she asked absentmindedly as she pulled it off of the face of the fridge.
“Which one?” Amanda asked absently as she looked at her planner. The sight of the planner made April cringe, she hated that thing.
“It’s uh, the one I found in the bookstore? Architecture and the Effects on the Paranormal?” April read it before smiling slightly. One of her favorite things about college was all of the lectures. She got to learn so much from so many people, and while most of the things had absolutely nothing to do with her major or area of study, this one actually was somewhat close to what she was studying.
“How the hell do you find these lectures?” Amanda asked with a laugh.
“I don’t know, this one looked interesting,” April replied as she held the flier out to Amanda who took it and looked it over.
“Seven pm?” she asked and then shrugged. “Sure, why not?” She agreed and then looked at the clock. “Okay, time to go.”
“Yes Mother,” April said before gulping down the last few sips of coffee. “Alright, let’s do this.”
The two women grabbed their bags and headed to the door, keys on the hook by the door, they each grabbed their set and headed out. Amanda locked the door behind them and they started the five minute walk to Columbia. As many problems and as annoying as their apartment was- it was a convenient location. Especially if Amanda got accepted to Columbia University Law School. They did their morning round of their favorite game- try not to get hit crossing Amsterdam Avenue- and headed a few blocks north before arriving on campus.
“What are you doing for lunch?”
“I don’t know, I still have my stupid free meal thing, maybe I’ll go get lunch on campus,” April shrugged.
“Alright, well, want to meet by the fountain around 12:15?” Amanda asked and April nodded.
“Sounds good,” she said before the two went in their separate directions.
The morning was like every morning she’d had over the past three years. She went to classes, took notes, but her mind wandered as she thought about her easel. She missed the feeling of her brush moving with the paint, the smell of the oil and turpentine, the feeling of creating. Her parents had agreed that while April was an excellent artist, there was no way they would pay for college if she wanted to study art- forget that she was a straight A student in high school, and forget that she had said her entire life that she wanted to be a painter- so she studied Art History and Architecture.
She found herself walking by the school of the arts and feeling a pang of jealousy as she watched students carrying around art projects or sketch pads, jealousy and admiration that they had the opportunity to study what they loved.
Sometimes she’d go sit in on art lectures, act like she was auditing the course, or looking for inspiration for her art history classes, but it depressed her. She went to each First Year Exhibition, and each Thesis Exhibition, staring at the art, rejoicing in their exhibitions, but she couldn’t help the feeling of longing for an experience like that. For someone to guide her art like the students there got.
Her pencil tapped against the paper in front of her as she listened to the lecturer and then she sighed and cracked her neck.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When 12 hit, April walked across the campus to the fountain she and Amanda had used as a meetup point for years. She was there early and she pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket before she began to pat herself down and groaned when she realized she didn’t have her lighter.
“Need a light?” a voice drew April from her contemplative state and she turned gratefully to the man who was sitting on the fountain’s edge a few feet from her.
“Love one,” she accepted and he stood up to walk closer. She stood as well as he pulled a lighter from his pocket and lit it. She laid her slender hands over his own large hands and cupped the flame, lighting the tip of her cigarette, inhaling the sweet taste of tobacco, before turning her eyes to the man who stood before her. “Thanks,”
“No problem- Think I could bum a smoke?” he asked, glancing at the pack between her fingers and she smiled before opening it.
“It’s only fair right?” she asked and he met her eye for a moment before glancing away with a smile.
“I don’t know about that,” he said as he reached out and took a cigarette from her pack. “I’m always happy to help,”
“Me too,” April said as she looked him over, he was older than she was, with rich brown hair and a kind face. He was tall too, not that April was ever considered tall herself, but he was tall. She closed the pack and slipped it back into her jacket pocket. It was a brisk day and she was thankful for his thicker frame blocking her from the chilly breeze. It was getting close to the time when she’d have to break the cold weather clothes from her closet. She glanced at him again, smiling when she realized his eyes were two different colors, one brown and one green, it was subtle but noticeable and she glanced away when he caught her eye.
“It’s called heterochromia,” he said, correctly guessing what she had been looking at.
“It’s pretty,” she said and he let out a small chuckle.
“Ah, well, thank you,” he said before taking a step closer to her. She looked up as he did and he looked down into her eyes. “What color would you call that?” he asked and she smiled slightly.
“The right one? It’s like a forest green,” she said and he blinked in surprise before he smiled again. “The left one is more like a freckled hazel,”
“I meant yours,” he said and she shrugged.
“The lead paint special?” she asked and he laughed.
“I wouldn’t say that,” he said before he dropped his hand. “Ahem- Sorry,”
“For what?” she asked as she lifted the cigarette to her lips and took a slow drag.
“For this,” he said softly before a man came up next to the two.
“Ray,” the man who approached, had high cheekbones and a pockmarked face. “Ready for lunch?”
“Ah, yeah,” he nodded. “Just saying goodbye to…”
“April,” she supplied and he smiled at her softly before nodding.
“April,” he said before he took a drag of his own cigarette.
“Well, hello there,” the man who had approached said as he looked her over. “Dr. Peter Venkman, how nice to meet you,”
“Charmed,” she said flatly before glancing back to the first man- Ray Dr. Venkman had called him. “Thanks for the light,” she said with a little more sincerity in her voice before she turned to leave.
“One sec,” Ray said to Dr. Venkman. “April,” she turned back to him and he tossed her the lighter he’d used to light her cigarette.
“What about you?” she asked and he shrugged.
“Get it back to me sometime,” he said and she smiled before she slipped it into her pocket.
“I will,” she promised before catching sight of Amanda who was walking over with a few of the people from her study group. “See ya ‘round, Ray,” she said and then turned around and walked over to Amanda who was waving goodbye to Elizabeth Chao.
“Hey Andre,” April hugged the jheri-curled future lawyer, laughing when he picked her clear off of the ground in a rib crushing squeeze.
“What’s going on Vicky Van Gogh?” he asked and she snorted at the nickname.
“You coming to the lecture with us tonight?” she asked and he let out a snort of a laugh.
“Oh you guys going to another one of your random lectures?” he asked as the three of them started to walk together.
“That’s the plan, man,” she said and he shook his head.
“Fraid not, I’ve got a date,”
“Oooh, with Lawrence again?” April pressed as she took a drag of her smoke.
“Who wants to know?” he asked with a little spice and she laughed.
“Me you bitch,”
“Hey, wanna just go home? We have soup there,” Amanda interjected and April thought about that before nodding.
“Actually, yeah, it’s cold and I don’t feel like being around underclassmen,” she admitted.
“Amen,” Andre said and the three walked to the apartment.
Amanda’s grandma had visited them a few days ago and had brought them a huge pot of this traditional chinese chicken and mushroom soup. She loved to come and cook for them, and April loved that her roommate’s grandmother loved to bring them food. She was tiny and owned a store in Chinatown that April loved going to when they had the time.
When they got to the apartment, Amanda unlocked the door and the three walked inside before April dropped her bag on the floor and flopped down on the couch. “How have you only been awake for three hours and you’re already this tired?” Amanda asked as she went to the kitchen and pulled the pot of soup out of the fridge.
“Hey, don’t yell at April, she’s depressed,” Andre said, making April lift her head up.
“Why the hell would I be depressed?”
“Because I’ve got a date with Lawrence and you got stuck talking to Dr. Venkman,” he said and she laughed.
“Oh you saw that huh?” she asked as she laid her head back on the arm of the couch. She could hear Amanda moving around in the kitchen.
“Yeah,” he chuckled. “I don’t know how you made it this long without having a run in with him.”
“It’s because she doesn’t spend much time in the Psychology building,” Amanda said knowingly from the kitchen.
“Is he a professor here?” April asked and he shrugged.
“He’s a researcher who occasionally teaches a lecture.” Andre explained as he opened his own bag and pulled out a notebook. He opened it and began to study while April looked over at her canvas. It was calling to her so she stood up and slipped her jacket off.
“Hm,” April said simply. “He has an interesting face.”
“You know from anyone else, that statement would be kind of weird,” Andre commented.
“What do you want from me Dre, I notice faces,” she said as she picked up the brush she had set down the night before. It felt right holding it, like an extension of herself, and as she brought it up to the brushstroke she had been working on the night before, she felt the anxiety and the struggle of the day melting away.
“Who was the guy with him?” he asked as he turned the page on his notebook, and April heard the microwave start to hum.
“No one tells Grandma I put her soup in the microwave,” Amanda said as she appeared in the doorway to the kitchen.
“The evil microwave’s gonna get ‘ya,” April giggled before looking at Andre. “Said his name was Ray,”
“My grandma hates them too,” Andre assured Amanda. “My dad tried to buy her one for christmas- she keeps her bread in it.”
“Oh boy, hot bread,” April commented and Andre chuckled.
“Whose name is Ray?” Amanda asked and April glanced back at her before she caught onto what she was asking.
“That guy? With Dr. Venkman?” she said.
“Oh,” she said simply as April dipped her brush back into the paint. “Who is he?”
“I don’t know, he’s just some guy, gave me a light,” she shrugged.
“Hm, that’s nice.”
“Yeah,” April said simply.
The three ate their lunch happily and when Amanda and Andre decided it was time to go back to campus, April put her paintbrush down and stared at the canvas. “It’s coming together,” Andre said and she smiled at him gratefully.
It was only another hour and a half she had to survive before she could come home and paint for hours uninterrupted.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When April’s last class of the day let out she hightailed it home and bought a pack of cigarettes and a new lighter from the bodega before she went up to the apartment. She opened the blinds, turned on her turntable and flipped through her record collection before she pulled out a well loved copy of Pearl by Janis Joplin before she put it on the turntable and dropped the needle on the album.
She stood at the canvas finally as Janis’ rough, crooning voice filled the apartment and overtook her senses, and finally, she got to work.
At around six thirty Amanda came out of her room, and watched April as she painted for a few minutes, until the feeling of her roommate’s eyes on her finally distracted her from what she was working on. “What’s up?”
“Just seeing how deep into it you are,” she explained. “You still want to go to the lecture?”
“Ah,” April cast a glance at the clock before she nodded. “Yeah, give me like ten minutes to clean up and we can head out.”
“Sounds good,” Amanda said as April looked at the painting.
Yeah she was at a good stopping point for now, and with that confident knowledge, she set her paintbrush down and walked back to her bedroom. She had changed some time ago into her usual painting shirt, and she slipped her trousers back on before pulling on a fresh, green shirt.
Boots were returned to feet, and she grabbed a hair clip from the dish on her dresser she kept them in. She twisted her hair up into a simple twist and clipped it before she walked out of her bedroom and stopped in the bathroom. Once she’d used the bathroom and washed her hands, she threw on a quick lipstick and then walked out to grab her leather jacket. She slid into it and slipped her hands in her pockets before her fingers wrapped around the lighter from earlier that day.
“Ready?” Amanda asked and April nodded. “Keys?”
“The hell do I need keys for, you have yours,”
“Okay, fair,” she agreed and the two walked out of the apartment. The temperature was dropping still, and April let out a shiver before she leaned against the wall to their door and watched as Amanda locked the door.
“It’s getting too cold for nightime lectures,” April said.
“Like they care,” Amanda commented as she slipped her hands into her pockets and the two started to walk.
“Right?” April mumbled as they walked. “Hey what are those things in grandma’s soup?”
“The goji berries?”
“Are those the red things?”
“Yeah,”
“Yeah, what the hell are goji berries?” April asked and Amanda laughed as they walked.
“It’s used a lot in Eastern cooking. Grandma says they’re good for your eyes and they protect you from cancer,”
“Huh,” she said as they crossed Amsterdam. “So I’m hearing Chinese food is health food.”
“Don’t think you can eat a box of fried rice and call that eating clean,” Amanda replied and April grinned.
“What if I put goji berries in it?”
“Shut up,” Amanda replied, making them both laugh.
When they got to the lecture hall April noticed the flier was taped to the window on the door and she pointed at it. “Think this is the place?”
“Why do I still come to these stupid things?” Amanda whispered to herself and April laughed.
“Because you like hanging out with your stupid roommate,” she said as they walked into the lecture hall together.
The first lecturer was a stiff, tall man with curly hair and glasses who spoke in a flat, controlled way, spouting off statistics and theories about different things. April was hardly paying attention though because when Dr. Spengler had come in, he hadn’t been alone, he was joined by the man from the fountain, Ray. April had perked up when she’d seen him, and when he saw her, he had smiled.
About halfway through the lecture, Dr. Spengler introduced Ray, though he introduced him as Dr. Stantz, and Dr. Stantz began to talk. Immediately the mood in the room shifted and April smiled as she listened to him talk, the hand that had been sketching stilled, he was much less focused, but much more passionate about the subject matter, and she found she liked listening to him.
Before she knew it, the lecture was over and people were making their way out. She looked at Amanda who looked relieved and she leaned in. “Dr. Stantz is the guy from the fountain earlier,” she whispered.
“Hm,” she said as she looked him over. “I wonder what he’s a doctor of,”
“One way to find out,” April said as she got up and walked over to the two men with a smile. “That was a fascinating lecture,” she said as she looked at the two.
“Thank you,” Dr. Spengler said and she smiled at him before glancing at Ray.
“Dr. Stantz, I have something of yours,” she drew the lighter from her pocket and held it out to him and he smiled softly as he held a hand up.
“No, please, keep it.”
“I bought one this afternoon,” she assured him as she continued holding the lighter out.
“So keep it as a spare,” he said. “Honestly, it’s so rare I get to help someone like that, a thirty five cent lighter is a small price to pay,”
“Well,” April said with a grin. “Thanks,” she said as she slipped the lighter back into her pocket.
“So, you um, come to lectures like this often?” he asked and she sighed as she shrugged, her hands still in her pockets.
“I don’t know about often,” she said. “But uh, whenever I find something that sounds even vaguely interesting, I try and check it out,”
“And this one caught your eye?”
“It seemed vaguely interesting,” she confirmed and he laughed before nodding.
“Yeah?” he asked, mismatched eyes sparkling. “And how did it live up?”
“I…” she paused, biting her lip as she thought about what to say. “I liked the second half,” she nodded. “I actually am doing my senior thesis on the evolution of artistic influence in architecture, and the way it differs across the country- so I think it would be fun to throw in a little bit about the effects of the paranormal on different types of architecture,” she said making him raise his eyebrows.
“That’s really interesting,” he said as he stepped a little closer. “I have a really fascinating book about the different types of architectural influence in relation to paranormal customs and beliefs around the world,”
“Oh I bet that’s fascinating,” April said, not noticing the almost identical looks she and Ray were getting from Dr. Spengler and Amanda.
“If you’d like, we can swing over to the lab and pick it up,” he offered. “I’d be happy to lend it to you,”
“I-”
“Have an early lecture,” Amanda cut her off and both Ray and April looked at Amanda, April had admittedly forgotten that Amanda was there, and she blushed slightly before glancing back at Ray and then back at Amanda. “And you didn’t bring your keys,” she reminded April who groaned softly.
“Hey, no problem- I’ll take a rain check,” Ray said and she smiled at him gratefully.
“Thanks,” she said as she glanced back at him. “I’ll definitely find you for that rain check though,”
“I hope so,” he said before glancing at Amanda. “Thanks for coming to the lecture tonight.”
“Uh-huh,” Amanda said before putting her hand on April’s arm and pushing her gently towards the door. “Have a good night.”
“Nice to see you again April,” Ray called as April looked over her shoulder and smiled at him.
“You too!” she said as she was pushed from the room. As they walked out of the building she huffed out a sigh and looked at Amanda. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“It was the truth- you didn’t have your keys, and you know if you went with him, you wouldn’t come home for hours, and I’m not losing sleep because you got home crazy late,”
“You’re the woooorst,” April groaned as they walked down the steps to the building together.
“You’ll get over it,” Amanda said bluntly, making April laugh. It was true, she could never stay upset at Amanda and she sighed as they walked home together, the entire time her fingers turned the lighter around in her pocket.
Is it too much to ask to just wanna kiss him all over his face with red lipstick on purpose until he’s all giggly and can’t breathe and looks like the meme of the cat covered in lipstick cause I’m a simple woman and it’s ALL I WANT IN LIFE
turnnoffyourmind
romaincrisis
prguitarman
kianamaiart
