Eerie Friends

     "Trust me!" Westie's older sister, Kiassa, argued. "There are ghosts; I've seen them with my own eyes! They're in our very own attic, the top floor of our Neohome, right now as we speak! I'm serious Westie. Mom might lie to protect you, but I'm your sister. I don't make things up."

     Westie and Kiassa, two sisters who were always arguing, were both Ogrins. Westie was blue while Kiassa was green. They never agreed with each other or trusted each other. Despite the age difference, they were normally always competing.

     "You do! What about the time you told me that Meepits live in socks?!" Westie demanded. "Mommy said that was a fib, and she was right!"

     Kiassa frowned. "That was different," she muttered. "Anyway, I can even take you to see the ghosts. It wouldn't even be scary, since they don't exist, right?" Kiassa smirked. "Come to the attic with me, little sister."

     "I don't like the attic," Westie whined, pressing herself up into the corner of the room. "I'm not going and you can't make me!"

     "You're right, I can't." Kiassa smiled. "But it is the only way you can prove that I'm wrong and that I'm lying," Kiassa said. "Of course, if you don't come, you can't prove that, and you're the one who's wrong."

     Westie frowned. "No!" she cried, stomping her foot. "That's not fair. You can't do that to me!" But Westie just sighed and quietly said, "Fine..."

     "Good." Kiassa smirked. "Then follow me to the attic, because I need to show you the ghosts that live there."

     "They weren't even invited, so how can they live in our Neohome? Mommy would know," Westie protested as she climbed the stairs, right after her sister. "Mommy wouldn't let ghosts live in our Neohome. She would have kicked them out long ago."

     "Mom doesn't know." Kiassa rolled her eyes. "Even when she says that moms know everything, they don't. You can't just listen to whatever she says. Everyone lies..." Kiassa coughed. "Except I'm not right now," she added.

     Westie and Kiassa reached the top step on the staircase. Kiassa looked over at her little sister. They exchanged glances, both saying they were ready in their silence. Kiassa reached up and turned the doorknob. She didn't open the door, however; it opened by itself.

     Westie looked troubled, worried, frightened. "Who's there?" she hissed into the attic, taking a step inside. "Are you sure, Kiassa? Or is this all some kind of prank?" Westie frowned. "I'll tell Mommy if you're lying to me and if you do this just to scare me."

     "For the last time, Westie..." Kiassa was about to say that this wasn't a joke, but she was interrupting by a sudden draft of wind. "Where did that come from?" Kiassa said to herself. "There aren't any other windows or doors up here."

     Westie shivered, but she wasn't cold. It was actually quite hot up in the attic. "This is spooky! Stop it, please, you're scaring me. Ghosts or no ghosts, I don't care. Let's just go back downstairs." Westie whimpered and pouted. "Please, Kiassa?"

     "Don't be a baby," the older, green Ogrin said. "Nothing's going to hurt you. Ghosts are real, sure, but I've been up here before and nothing happened to me. I saw them, they saw me, and then I left." Kiassa left out the part of the story where she had freaked out.

     "We won't hurt you," a voice agreed.

     "Kiassa!" Westie screeched. "Stop that! Let's go back downstairs, now. Stop making voices."

     "That wasn't me..." Kiassa sighed. "Hello, Broncka," she said. "Don't creep out my sister, okay? She doesn't believe in ghosts... yet."

     "She doesn't believe?!" Broncka demanded. "We'll make her believe, won't we? Little girl, little, little Ogrin, I'm coming out! So don't be frightened." Suddenly a ghost Poogle walked out from behind old boxes. "Hi, little one."

     "Aaah!" Westie screamed, making a mad dash for the door so she could go back down the stairs. But Broncka quickly floated in front of Westie to block the way. "No, please!" Tears rolled down Westie's face. "I believe, I believe! But please, don't touch me!"

     "I won't if you don't want me to," Broncka said, "but you'll really be missing out. It's the neatest feeling. Well, I want you to meet my friends..."

     "No!" Westie pleaded. "No friends."

     "I have about ten more, but I guess I'll just let you meet Sienna. She's really sweet, you see. You'll like her." Broncka smiled before calling out: "Oh, Sienna!"

     Just moments later a ghost JubJub hopped out from the shadows and cobwebs. "Who's this one?" Sienna asked Kiassa and Broncka. "Looks like a little sweetie." Sienna hopped over and stood right in front of Westie. "I wish I was still colored like that. I remember when I was blue..." Sienna sighed, her thoughts full of memories.

     "Kiassa, please, let's go," Westie begged. "They're scaring me."

     "Not until you properly introduce yourself," Kiassa hissed. When Westie didn't say anything, Kiassa knelt down so she was face to face with her sister. "Westie, listen.

     "When I first came to explore our attic and saw the ghosts, I was horrified! I made a mad dash to run off, too, but they didn't let me. We became good friends and we had a lot of fun. I've been up here a lot since then, and now these ghosts, weird as it may seem, are my best friends." Kiassa smiled. "It won't hurt to have some new friends, will it?"

     Westie sighed. "I'm Westie, Broncka and Sienna. Nice to meet you. Okay, Kiassa, let's go."

     "No," Kiassa said. "Did you already forget what I said to you? New friends, remember? Listen to me. Just get to know them, you'll love it. I promise."

     "Tell me," Westie said, annoyed, "how our mommy doesn't know about this. You said you visit these ghosts a lot? Well, other pets are living in our Neohome! Mommy would not approve! I'm telling her so she can get them out of here!"

     "No, Westie," Broncka said, "don't do that! We've been here for a hundred years, so technically we were here before your family ever was! This is our Neohome, but we let you come and live in it." Broncka frowned.

     "Really?" Westie asked, perking up. "One hundred whole years? How in the world did you manage to stay in an attic that long without dying from boredom?!" Then Westie giggled. "I see..."

     Sienna smiled. "So, you want to have tea?" she asked. "We have tea... It's really good, too. Have you ever had Earl Grey Tea?" Sienna asked. "Oh, wait, you probably have..."

     "No, I don't think so. Why do you think I've had it before?" Westie asked.

     "Westie," Kiassa started, "they took it from our kitchen while we were sleeping one night..."

     "They're thieves?!" Westie demanded, her eyebrows furrowing. "No! Mommy won't have it! Maybe we're living in your Neohome, but I just realized... We paid for this Neohome, and a hundred years ago, you probably didn't! Also, we paid for that tea. So you're stealing, little crime committers!" Westie screamed and ran out the door from the attic, stomping all the way down the stairs.

     "Oh gosh," Kiassa groaned. "She'll tell Mom. I'm going to go stop her; you guys need to hide, okay?"

     "Sure thing. And we'll tell the others, too," Broncka said, pulling Sienna away from the door and towards the back of the attic. "Good luck down there."

     "Yeah, good luck up here," Kiassa whispered, running down the stairs.

     ***

     "I don't see anything," the mother of Westie and Kiassa said, standing in the doorway of the attic. "Westie, are you sure you weren't having another one of your little nightmares? You've had this one before, I'm sure of it... I had to tell you ghosts weren't real, remember? Well, they're not, honey, so don't worry about it. It was a bad dream."

     "It wasn't!" Westie argued. "I think I'd know, Mommy. I was here, when it happened! You can just ask Kiassa, she was here too!" Westie gave Kiassa a look, one that said tell the truth, you know it's the right thing.

     "No, I don't remember any ghosts. After all, they don't exist." Kiassa smiled sweetly. "Listen, Westie, you probably dreamed it all up. I don't remember a thing like that. I mean, I haven't even been in this attic for years... I'm sorry, Westie, but it was a dream, surely. However, the dialogue you remember seems pretty lifelike... You're a good dreamer!" Kiassa winked.

     "Come on, Westie, let's go back downstairs. I'll brush your hair and you can put some nice nail varnish on," the mother said.

     "Really?! I thought I wasn't allowed to wear make-up," Westie said, smiling. "You know, it was a dream. I remember now, it was a dream. Thanks, Mommy! Let's go varnish my nails!"

     When her mom and sister went downstairs, Kiassa broke out the biggest grin. "Come on out, guys! The coast is clear. Now let's have some fun, friends. It's just too bad that my sister didn't want another friend..."

     And Kiassa sat on a box with Broncka, Sienna, and ten other ghosts to enjoy a few sips of the most delicious tea, which tasted even better when it was shared with friends. Ghost friends, that is. Ghost friends rule!

The End

Author's Note: Keep reading the Neopian Times; I'm going to write more stories about Kiassa, Westie, and their ghost friends! This is only the beginning... And a big thanks to all my friends on the NTWF... You guys rule! Lots of -hugs-!