LIZA GRIFFIN WASNT THE AVERAGE WITCH. sure, she dabbled in all sorts of things. but nothing ever came close to her ability to see ghosts. a medium is what they're calling it.

nothing special stood out about her, other than the fact that she had striking red hair and blue eyes to match. she was stunning, almost for her own good. yet, no one gave her the time day. except for natalia and wally, who stood unsure of the situation at hand.

wally leaned down, his lips close to natalia's ear. "can she see me?"

natalia didn't pay no mind to the proximity of the two. she leaned back a bit, pursuing her lips while her eyes remained on liza. "i have no idea." she mumbled through her lips, scared to make any sudden movement.

everyone was aware of liza. she had this sort of charm about her, one so delicate yet dangerous. her eyes were full of secret and her smile summoned the devil himself. she flaunted her style off to everyone, making sure the whole student body was aware that she was, in fact, a witch. long, black skirts and black tops to match. stitching so unique and patterned, it was damn near impossible to miss her.

she mimicked the style of stevie nicks and whatever she could find in her mothers closet. the people of the era weren't used to her eccentric style, throwing them off completely. it didn't help that the idea of witchcraft fell short, earning liza a few snickers for her passion.

yet, liza's smile never faded. in fact, it only grew whenever someone seemed frightened of her.

a low chuckle escaped her lips, causing liza to cross her arms over her chest. "of course i can see him. it's wally clark."

the duo stood in silence, however their shocked expressions were written all over their faces. natalia's eyes bulged out of her head, while wally's breath grew shallow against her neck.

"she sees you." natalia whispered, a slight smile on her lips.

"i know." wally returned the soft-spoken voice. "i think we can stop whispering now."

"please." liza rolled her eyes, shoving her crimped waves out of her face. "it's embarrassing, really."

wally cleared his throat awkwardly, flashing a genuine small at the redhead. "liza griffin, the witch we all know and love."

"can it, clark." liza spoke, taking a gander at her nails in the moonlight. "i know why i can see you. i see you all the time. i see you in your most vulnerable moments." she grinned, sending a wink toward wally. the boy couldn't help but blush, immediately running an awkward hand through his hair.

"but," liza continued, angling herself toward natalia.

natalia perked up a bit, parting her lips to speak. however, nothing came out when liza flashed a cheeky grin her way. "but?" natalia finally asked, her voice dripping in confusion.

"how can you see him?" liza bit the bullet, cutting straight to the point. "you're not a fellow medium, are you?"

"what?" natalia's eyebrows knitted together, glancing behind her at wally for some support. "no. no, i'm not! i just...i don't know why i can see him."

"it's a mystery to us both." wally chimed in, causing natalia to smile to herself.

however, liza wasn't buying it. her eyes narrowed at the two of them, as if they were concocting some kind of scheme. "natalia, if you're a witch, it's okay. no one's going to burn you at the stake."

"what?" natalia cleared her throat awkwardly, standing up straight to appear more dominant. "i swear, i don't practice...witchcraft. or anything of the sorts. i just went to the boiler room and now...i see a dead wally clark. all the time."

"thanks," wally mumbled, earning himself a nice punch to the gut from natalia's elbow. "i deserved that." he wheezed out, a satisfying smile falling onto natalia's lips.

"i see," liza grimaced before readjusting her position.

natalia wondered why this conversation was happening in the first place. it's not like it was easy for someone to spot natalia and wally. or in their case, natalia alone talking to the wall like a crazy person. yet, liza seemed to find them no problem. "how did you even see us?"

liza shrugged, tapping her teeth with her index finger. "intuition, i guess."

it was natalia's turn to roll her eyes. "bullshit."

"would i lie to you, natalia?" liza asked, placing a hand upon her heart.

"i wouldn't answer that if i were you." wally spoke to natalia, his chin resting inches away from her shoulder. "she's crazy. i've seen it. i've seen it all."

natalia's eyes stayed fixated on the witch, unable to look away. something about the situation seemed odd, and natalia didn't know what to do about it. liza griffin was known as a heinous bitch, always talking back and replying to any form of aggression with her demonic smirk. yet, the redhead stood still, a gentle smile on her lips.

it was frightening.

"keep out of it." natalia whispered back, crossing her arms over her chest.

wally nodded, shoving his hands in the pockets of his letterman jacket. his eyes glanced down to natalia, admiring the way her curls cascaded down her back, headphones set around the neck. headphones at a football game.

classic.

"i don't know if i trust you, liza." natalia replied, her face stoic. "i just don't understand how you even found us. we're in a pretty hidden location—"

"oh my god! snore, snore, snore!" liza replied, immediately following by a fit of giggles. "you rushed out of the stands after whispering to yourself. do you know how psycho you looked? i just had to follow and see for myself. and now i understand why. wally clark is following you around like a lost puppy dog!"

"well, i wouldn't say all that..." wally said, trying to fight his way back into the conversation.

"following me around? he just appeared today! out of the blue! i don't understand why no one else can see him!" natalia protested, her eyebrows crunched and lip curled into a scowl. "no one else except you."

"what can i say?" liza smiled, swaying back and forth. "i can see and speak to the dead. i know everything about them, especially the ones at this school. and wally clark is a mystery wrapped in a beautiful man."

with a smirk, wally popped his collar. "why thank you."

"wally," natalia turned around for a moment, flashing him an angry look.

wally threw his hands in the air in defeat. "what? she called me a beautiful boy."

"you are." liza agreed.

"see!" wally called out, bringing his attention back to natalia.

"never mind!" natalia said. the two couldn't go a minute without some sort of banter, mainly caused by natalia. she loved to pick fights, a trait wally picked up quite fast. "liza, can you excuse us for a moment?"

"of course." liza sent a wink toward wally, ultimately causing natalia to roll her eyes.

only liza griffin would flirt with a ghost.

natalia turned to wally, signaling him to start walking away. wally followed in suit, taking small steps back as natalia followed. "why are we having a private ghost meeting?"

"because i'm really freaked out and i don't need liza griffin seeing me like this." natalia protested, stopping in her tracks as her and wally found a slightly more private area for the two.

"you don't need to freak out, nat." wally flashed a gentle smile at the blonde, trying to ease her nerves as much as possible. "she's just a medium."

natalia arched an eyebrow, sighing in frustration. "just a medium? do you even hear yourself right now? she can see you, wally. and i can see you."

"what if you're a medium?"

"i'm not." natalia spoke, words sharper than daggers. "i can't be a medium. i don't know witchcraft, i don't want to know witchcraft. i don't want to be able to see you right now."

"well, i'm glad i can see you." wally's lips tugged into a grin, his eyes faltering onto natalia's.

natalia crossed her arms over her chest. boys never seemed to act this way toward her. sure, natalia always thought of herself as pretty. she was blonde with blue eyes, earning her at least some conventionally attractive points. however, her attitude and demeanor turned off many people, including boys. they were scared of her, terrified even.

so, why wasn't wally clark scared of her?

"now's not the time, wally." natalia said, trying to keep her voice steady. it was one thing to flirt with her, of course. it was new and a bit exhilarating, especially from the charms of wally clark, former quarterback. but internally, natalia was freaking out over the situation at hand. and the last thing she wanted to do was involve liza griffin in it.

on the other hand, wally clark couldn't get enough. natalia came off a bit cold and distant, yet that's what drew him the most toward her. he had known her when he was alive, formally as matty's friend. he would sneak glances at her in the halls, trying to decipher what she could possibly be listening to all the time. they shared classes, and wally was desperate to be her lab partner at one point.

but natalia always seemed to draw toward matty. which, in retrospect, made sense. but wally could never work up the courage to speak to her without his tongue twisting and heart racing. it also didn't help that some of his closest friends seemed to have an issue against natalia.

wally never knew why.

natalia seemed...great.

"it's always the time to compliment a beautiful girl, natalia." wally spoke, his voice full of tenderness, a slight blush creeping on his cheeks.

natalia stood stoic, trying not to show any emotions. however, on the inside, she was crumbling up into a paper ball. flirting with a ghost was not on her bucket list, yet she checked it off multiple times. "anyways." the girl spoke, looking down at the floor to try and hide her cheeks.

silence fell over the two, a sense of comfort lingering in the air. wally couldn't take his eyes off of her, intrigued by her shy reaction. "is natalia warren going soft on me?"

her eyes shot up, the faded red on her cheeks darkening by the seconds. "what?" she asked, scoffing with a hint of sarcasm. natalia was trying to cover it up desperately. "i'm not going soft on you. or anyone."

"i beg to differ by the blush on your cheeks. you're beat red."

"wally!" natalia sighed in frustration. "this isn't the time to fli—"

in the distance, natalia and wally could hear an uproar. their eyes focused on one another, confusion crossing over both their faces. they turned to liza, seeing her leaning against the nearest wall. the redhead saw them, waving slightly at the two.

"what is that?" natalia asked, her voice gentle.

wally knew all too well. a smile creeped up onto his lips. "matty."

"wha—" natalia spoke but was cut off to the sound of shoes pounding on the concrete. her blue eyes followed the source, seeing wally make a run toward the game. "wally!"

"matty!" wally called back, paying no mind to the conversation he was just having with natalia.

he zoomed passed liza, her eyes fixated on the ghost. the redhead looked back at natalia with a cocked eyebrow, confused about the whole situation.

natalia let out a frustrated groan, staring up at the sky. "what did i do to deserve this?"

thus, natalia ran off after wally. she hated running, it was never her strongest suit. any type of physical exercise angered her. she'd much rather take a leisurely walk or just sit and do nothing. she never found the joy in it, but she had to keep up with wally somehow. "wally!"

natalia passed liza with speed, sending a gust of wind her way. "hey!" liza called out, watching as natalia ran after wally. "i thought we were going to talk again!"

"we'll talk later, liza! i'm sorry!" natalia shouted out, turning the corner. "wally!"

natalia stopped in her tracks, the crowd's roaring filling her ears. her baby blue eyes searched the area. "wally, where did you go?" she whispered to herself, slowly approaching the bleachers.

she glanced around, eyes fixating on the crowd. natalia caught sight of the blue letterman jacket, then a pair of brown eyes. hands pressed against the gate of the field, wally watched the events unfold in front of him with wide eyes.

natalia felt the strings of her heart being pulled, eyes softening at the sight. it was so innocent yet so pure. wally's eyes were stuck on matty running down the field, holding the ball in the crook of his arm.

wally, the once famous quarterback of their town. wally, the gentle soul who never shied away from letting matty shine. wally, trying his best to contain his jealousy and mask it with content. it all made sense. he missed his best friend and the only thing that made him feel like he had a purpose.

natalia tilted her head to the side, not knowing how to approach the situation. the girl listened the crowd's explosive noise, booming throughout the whole stadium. the stadium newly named after wally. the stadium in which wally used to own, running down the field and scoring as many touchdowns as he could.

the same field that matty now ran down, making a beeline for the end zone.

"come on, matt." wally whispered to himself, leaning over the fence. his hands dangled, twisted into fists of anxiety.

natalia's eyes steadied on his hands, seeing how strong and veiny they looked. rolled up into balls, all sorts of emotions coursing through his veins. it intrigued natalia. she wanted to pick his brain more than ever. to know what he was thinking, what corrections he had or the immense pride he felt for matty.

one step forward, natalia inhaled sharply. she approached wally at a slow pace, attention focused only on him, while the remainder of the crowd zoomed in on matty.

she stopped.

one foot over the line, matty foster had just secured his first touchdown of the season.

"hell yeah!" wally cheered, throwing his arms in the air the moment matty crossed the line. the blonde boy tumbled onto the field, securing the ball in his hands tighter than ever. "matty! matty! matty!" he began to cheer, looking around at the rest of the stadium.

natalia felt the sadness oozing out of him. the way his shoulders held up, a weak smile on his lips. wally was happy, there was no doubt about it. but something stung his core, another reminder that he was dead and all he could do was sit on the sidelines and watch.

"sad, huh?"

natalia spun around, flinching at the sight in front of her.

liza griffin had snuck up on her, face blank and hard to read. the emotions that natalia had just witnessed made the situation difficult, trying to cover up the fact that she felt pity for wally. "what?" she asked.

"wally." liza motioned toward him, causing natalia to spin around.

wally watched as the team surrounded matty, exchanging brief hugs and handshakes made up by the team. his eyes scanned the field, lips forming to a gentle frown as he was missing out on this moment.

yet, if he hadn't died, matty wouldn't have gotten this moment. wally tried to remind himself that everything happened for a reason. the slogan grew harder by the days because he just wanted to get out of this purgatory setting of school. the constant reminders that he no longer plays and that matty is in charge.

but, in the moment, all of the jealousy and anxiety disappeared. matty took a moment to himself, staring up at the sky. he smiled wide, toothy and bright. he tapped his chest twice.

and wally returned the favor, eyes kept on his best friend as he did so.

a familiar signal they used to give one another.

matty was saying thank you. and wally was replying, whether he knew it or not.

natalia glanced back, seeing wally hadn't moved. she let out a shaky sigh, running a hand through her crunchy curls. "yeah. yeah, it is." the blonde looked back at the witch, eyes full of sadness.

"you know," liza spoke, her tone gentle. "we can get to the bottom of this. you just have to stop running away from me. you know, witch to witch?"

"i'm not a witch." natalia retorted.

"whatever." liza rolled her eyes. "you just have to trust me. okay?"

natalia hesitated. she felt like she was making a deal with the devil. a devil so cunning and talented, trapping natalia in a web of chaos. she glanced down at the hand that stood out to her, ready to agree.

liza's eyes bored into natalia's, waiting for the acceptance. her bottom lip curled into scowl, growing impatient by the second. "you can trust me. i promise."

natalia stared at the hand before turning her head to wally. she wanted to figure out the reason she could see him. it felt awkward, weird. why was she able to see him? what was so special about natalia? and why did wally seem to genuinely take a liking toward her? it all confused her and she just wanted to get to the bottom of it.

and the only plausible solution seemed to be working with liza.

lifting her arm, natalia slowly clutched onto liza's. the two shook briefly, liza smiling from ear to ear. "i can call you later and we'll discuss. m'kay?"

"you have my number?"

"the yellow pages, warren." liza winked, pulling her hand away in a swift motion.

"right." natalia said.

it seemed like the right choice. liza griffin wouldn't put anyone in danger, especially if it meant death was on the menu. natalia rarely trusted anyone but at this point, she didn't have a choice.

she wanted to do this for herself.

but more importantly, she wanted to do it for wally.

authors note
finally updating! so sorry it took so long. i've been struggling to write with my busy schedule and the anxieties of not feeling confident with my writing. i'll try to update as much as i can :) hope yall like!!!