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Spencer spent all week fantasizing about this night. No parents, B-movies of the horror variety, being alone with the Cobra himself. Normally a night alone with Billy wouldn’t make him so flustered, but tonight was different. At least if everything goes according to plan, that is.
He was meticulous - setting the snacks and drinks in a particular order for literally no reason. Every so often he’d re-examine his movie picks. He didn’t want anything too weird. Spencer was trying to be romantic but that was a trait that didn’t come naturally to him. And who was he going to ask for ghost romancing advice? He wanted nothing more than tonight to be special.
It had been only a few years since his family moved into this mansion, but the time he spent with Billy felt like an eternity in a good way. Spencer couldn’t help but adore his little billyisms - the way he spoke, the way he floated about. They never spoke about it, but he knew deep in his heart Billy loved Spencer too. He supposed the reluctancy on their part had to do with the uniqueness of the situation. After all, how many people are open about dating ghosts? Assuming, Spencer and Billy wouldn’t be the first. Yes, it was uncharted waters to be sure, and Spencer was never that strong a swimmer. But, he knew he couldn’t spend the rest of life pining for Billy.
As his frenzied preparations continued, it was soon time for their ‘date’. Billy was strangely punctual, no doubt he was too excited for their movie night. Especially since Spencer kept shooing Billy away all day as he got everything ready.
“‘Sup, Bromeo?” The ghost posed as he enunciated every syllable. Spencer had a goofy smiled painted on his face, and could you blame him? Many fell victim to the Cobra’s allure.
“He-Hey ya, uh, Billy-“ He wanted to slap himself. Why was he acting so goofy? He sunk into the sofa, hoping Billy didn’t find him as embarrassing as he believed himself to be.
Billy floated onto the sofa next to him, his ghostly arm draped across Spencer’s shoulders. “So, what’s the first flick on our agenda?” His eyes were focused on his nails. A nervous habit leftover from when he was alive, some habits really do die hard.
“Oh, uh,” Spencer dropped some tapes as he tried to grab the cassette on top. “Cannibal… Holocaust?” He looked at the tape confused. He definitely recalled putting this one back, wasn’t sure if fit the vibe he was going for.
“Sounds…bloody?”
Fucking. Idiot. Spencer hit the movie’s box against his head while Billy wasn’t looking. “Yeah, we can watch something else?” He tried to keep his voice composed. “I didn’t realize it was in the stack.” Spencer tried to laugh off the mistake.
“Wasn’t it on the top, dude?” Billy’s eyes broke their concentration with his nails. He raised an eyebrow looking at Spencer. Though Billy wasn’t sure what was wrong with Spencer, he picked on the odd mannerisms.
“Uh, yeah,” he sighed. Fucking fuck fuck, idiot fuck. His brain was too busy beating himself up to give Billy any sort of proper response.
“Don’t worry, Broseph.” Billy smiled, petting Spencer’s hair. “Let’s watch it, I’m sure it’s not that bloody.”
“Ok,” Spencer replied sheepishly as he put the tape in the vcr. He picked up a can of soda as he made his way back to the sofa.
It didn’t take long before Billy was soon cuddled up next to Spencer. Yes, it was too much blood for Billy. “Shit, man, what are they doing to that girl?”
“We can watch something else?” Spencer grabbed one of the DVDs in his pile. “How do you feel about Pink Flamingos?”
Billy paused before answering, “What do they do to flamingos in that movie?” His eyes turned back to the movie. “She’s going to be okay, right? I mean, horror movies always have a Final Girl character, right?” There was a slight hint of desperation in his voice.
“Um,” Spencer thought for a moment. It had been awhile since he watched this movie. He didn’t recall anyone surviving, but he didn’t want to upset Billy any further. “Yeah, she’ll be fine.” He smiled as he continued going through his movies, even reaching for his backup pile. “Does Faces of Death sound like something you’d be interested in? I think I have all of them actually.”
“But if she’s going to okay, then it should be fine to keep watching, yea?”
“Ye…eah,” Spencer bit his lip. Fuckity fuck fuck shit fuck idiot fuck. “But, I have Tromeo and Juliet! Huuuuh? What you say?” That’s probably the closest movie to a romance movie that Spencer owns. He was hoping Billy would go for the bait, at this point he wasn’t sure how he’d react to that scene. He was starting to get desperate, who knew cannibalism was such a date killer?
“Is there…cannibalism in there?”
Spencer frowned, exhausted from his own perfectionism. He dropped the DVD on the floor and groaned into his palm. “Uh, you okay, dude?” Billy leaned in, resting his head against Spencer’s. “Did…did I do something wrong?”
“No!” Spencer jumped up, startling Billy in the process. “No, I’m sorry. I just wanted tonight to be special - memorable, ya know. I didn’t plan on making you watch Cannibal Holocaust.”
“Don’t worry, cannibalism is surprisingly memorable.” He joked, his infectious laugh getting a smile out of Spencer. “Besides, every moment with you is special to me.”
“Re-Really?!”
“Yea, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Sucks we only got to meet after I died.”
Spencer didn’t know what to say. Billy wasn’t the most emotionally open person so his words really hit Spencer deep. Was this the confirmation Spencer was looking for? He leaned in close to the phantom. Another smile started to form on his face as he looked at Billy. Something about the lighting and Billy’s spectral body made him look more ethereal tonight. Spencer closed his eyes as he allowed his body to guide him. He couldn’t remember when the thought of kissing Billy first crossed his mind. But afterwards, it became more difficult to resist with each passing day. Being with Billy was all he needed to be happy, but a kiss would’ve made tonight perfect for him.
THUD
“Um, you okay, Spence?” Billy looked down at Spencer who landed face first into the arm rest.
“I wuff phuu,” Spencer cried into the arm rest.
“What?”
Spencer pulled himself up. “It’s nothing, I forgot about you being all non-corporeal.”
“Oh.” Billy leaned back a bit, “that’s it?”
“Yea, just a dumbass.” He laughed it off, unaware of Billy getting closer to him. Billy leaned in and kissed him on the forehead causing Spencer to blush. He tried to hide the redness with his hands. “What was that for?”
“The bump on your head, dumbass,” Billy chuckled. “I hope it feels better.”
“Oh, yeah.” Spencer began to feel around his forehead. While he was distracted, Billy gave Spencer another quick kiss on the lips. “Whu-“
Billy grinned. “I love you, too, ya dumbass.” The two shared a a brief fit of laughter before returning to their movies. They made the wise decision to watch Heathers next as they cuddled close together.