< i added a scene to the previous chapter cause i didn't want this one to be too long. so make sure you go check that out before continuing here!!! it's important lol

Lil' bit of news.

She didn't mention this earlier, because it just seemed pointless, but a while back some dudes came to their old house and investigated it because they thought it was all a hoax. They were kinda funny? One peed himself and ate lots of Doritos?

...

Not ringing any bells?

...

Damn it.

This isn't gonna work.

Rewind time.
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The First Haunted House
March 10, 2011
(Roughly set around the time Sunshine opened Victoria's box)

A bald man is standing in front of the house, positioned before a large camera, one of the two paranormal investigators that doesn't believe Sunshine's house is haunted. He's wearing a tan shirt with a brown tie, and a black slicker on over it. He looks more like a sheriff than anything.

"Here behind me," he says, pointing back, using his narrator voice, "stands the home of an anonymous YouTuber known to the world only as Sunshine. She's a cute, funny, charismatic seventeen-year-old girl, but Sunshine's charms are not what makes her unique, no, it's something else entirely. Something that most people would never expect. According to the videos that she regularly posts on YouTube, Sunshine may very well be living in the most haunted house known to man."

He smiles. "So, I, Gary Thompson, experienced paranormal investigator and my crack team of equally experienced paranormal investigators have come here today to discover the truth behind these videos."

Another man walks into frame. He has longer curly black-gray hair that trickles in front of his eyes, and he's wearing a black shirt that doesn't hide the bulge of his stomach. His hands are tucked beneath his armpits and he looks like he's trying to act tough, but in reality, he looks like a completely pussy.

"Is Sunshine really being haunted?" Gary continues. "Or is this just some elaborate hoax? Only time will tell. So let's begin our journey... into the unknown." He smirks and turns, then his face drops at the sight of the other man. "Have you been standing here for the whole shot, Lionel?"

Lionel realizes he's being spoken to. "No, no," he says, motioning, "not the whole shot, just when you told me to come in."

"When I told— I never told you to come in." Gary looks very much annoyed.

Lionel shakes his head, eyes wide. "Yeah, you did. You told me on the 'hoax' line, you need to pop in." He repeats the same weird stance, trying to look rugged and intimidating. "Look tough."

"I— I don't want you popping in and looking tough. I never said that." Gary shakes his head.

"Uh. Yeah, Gary, ya did. It was right after you talked to your mom and asked her what was for dinner. Right after that, remember?"

"Well, I remember talking to Mom about—" Gary clenches his jaw and averts his gaze for a moment. "My— Mom— that's hilarious." He clears his throat, trying to shrug it off for the camera. "Can we just cut? We're gonna have to do the intro again."

"Can I stay in the shot?" Lionel asks.

"No!"

"Why not?!"

"Because it doesn't make any sense you being in the shot!"

"I look tough!"

Gary clenches his hand into a fist and walks away.

Take 2, and they're close to finishing with the intro. At least, Gary is.

"Is Sunshine really being haunted," he recites, "or is this just some elaborate hoax? Only time will tell."

From the bushes walks Lionel, trying to look tough again, taking his place behind Gary.

Gary doesn't notice and continues. "So, let's begin our journey, into the unknown." He dramatically turns and nearly runs right into his colleague. "Damnit, Lionel!" He shakes his head angrily and walks out of the camera frame.

Now in the house, Gary stands beside Sunshine and Kat. Both women have their arms crossed and are looking at him like he's an idiot. "So I am now standing here," Gary says, "with Sunshine, the internet star."

Sunshine makes a face and Kat giggles.

"And her mom," Gary adds.

"Yep," Kat says to the camera.

"I wouldn't really... call myself a star," Sunshine says.

Ah. How naive she was in the beginning...

Gary sighs and tucks his hands into his pockets.

"I would," says Lionel on Gary's left. He's munching on a bag of Doritos, and he definitely has some sort of Southern drawl. "You chicks are hot."

Gary turns to his friend. "Lionel..."

Kat and Sunshine are left a little speechless.

"Ew," Sunshine mumbles.

"Regardless of your idea of fame, Sunshine," Gary manages to continue, turning his back to Lionel, "you can't argue with the numbers. Thousands of people are watching your videos, and then debating the authenticity of these so-called— 'ghost videos.'"

Sunshine nods slowly and raises her brows.

"Some have even gone so far as to call you... fake and gay."

The camera zooms into Sunshine's face, The Office style.

"You have a response to that?"

"No," she says, "well— I'm not gay." Sunshine hesitates. "I do have a thing for Mila Kunis, but... let's be honest, who doesn't?" She laughs. Kat taps her shoulder, telling her to back off, but fails and relents.

"I'm—" Gary struggles for words. "I'm really more interested in the word fake in that phrase."

"O-oh," Sunshine stammers, nodding.

Kat sighs.

"Are your videos," Gary asks, "fake?"

Sunshine squints. "Isn't that what you're—" She motions at he, Lionel, and the cameras, "kinda here to figure out, I mean...? Stick around long enough and something's bound to happen."

"Well," Gary sighs, "if you are faking it, we will discover your methods. My team and I—" He looks back at Lionel and frowns to see him licking Dorito dust off of his fingers. Gary turns back to the women. "Are— experienced paranormal investigators, and nary a clue—"

Yuck.

"Nary a clue, I say, will get past us."

Kat nods.

Sunshine makes another face. "Great, Sherlock, uhm." She motions. "Where's the rest of your... team?"

Gary looks at her. "What do you mean?"

"The rest of your team, you said you had a team, this isn't really a... a team, it's a guy with a camera, and you, and then..." Lionel crunches on a chip. "That one, who kinda smells like Doritos."

Lionel realizes someone's talking about him. He reaches forward. "Mm? Want one?" he says through a mouthful.

Gary hisses quietly, "Stop— offering— Doritos."

Sunshine and Kat lean back and politely shake their heads.

Gary returns his gaze to them. "Yes, we have fallen on some financially difficult times, and our team has shrunk a little bit, but—" He grabs a Dorito Lionel hands him and eats it, "rest assured, strong as ever."

"Um. Okay." Sunshine looks around awkwardly. "Great. Where do you wanna... start..?"

He hums thoughtfully. "Well, why don't you show us where—"

A mug in the kitchen shatters on the floor and causes everyone to jump. Gary's eyes widen and he rushes past the cameraman, throwing himself into the kitchen. "Who's in here?!" he demands.

Kat raises a brow as she walks after him. This is a usual occurrence, so she isn't too shocked. "Nobody's in here."

Gary looks in the dining room as if someone's gonna be hiding there. Lionel walks over the mug and eats his Doritos, looking around. Gary laughs, clearly out of his comfort zone. "All right. Tell us how you did it."

Sunshine makes a face. "Did it? Did what?"

Kat points to the living room. "We were in there, with you."

"It wasn't me," Sunshine offers, fed up with these amateurs. "It was... probably a ghost, probably Anna."

"Anna?" Gary echoes.

Both women nod. "Yeah," Sunshine says, brows furrowing, "Anna? The little girl ghost that haunts the house? I mean, she's not the only one, but she's the most active."

Gary whips his head to Lionel, then calmly looks back at Sunshine, nodding slowly. "We shall see."

Silence.

"Okay...?"

And so, they wait.

Now darkness has fallen upon the earth, shadows spilling into the house. Lionel, Kat, and Sunshine sit on the couch. Gary stands in front of the camera, both excited and nervous to continue.

"It is almost midnight," he declares in his narrator voice, "here in the Sunshine home, and it seems like activity is starting to pick up."

"I think just in general," Kat says from the couch, "there's a lot more activity after dark." She nods.

Gary motions toward the camera, silently hinting that he doesn't want to be interrupted during his scenes. He clears his throat and spreads his hands out. "We have heard a girl yelling, and we have heard footsteps upstairs—" Gary turns, grabbing everyone's attention. "Sunshine, are we the only people in the house?" He leans down on his knees to their level.

Sunshine makes a face, like she can't believe what she's hearing. "You've been here for, like, six hours. Have you seen anyone else?"

"Ah," Gary says, "clever is the girl who does not answer the question."

"I'm not not answering the question, I'm just trying to encourage a little— critical thinking from you and your—" She looks over at Lionel. "Team..."

"Ahh, yes, critical thinking!" Lionel nods, pointing at Sunshine. "I engage in critical thinking all the time."

"Lionel," Gary sighs, standing, "deciding what bowl of cereal you'll have in the morning doesn't qualify as critical thinking."

"You kidding' me? It can be!" he defends. "You know, every day is a struggle to make the right decision. Like— when my friends and I are gettin together—"

Sunshine drops her head in her hands.

"—I plan ahead, a'ight? For the big DnD match, I eat four bowls of Wheaties— breakfast of champions gets me to the edge—"

"Will you shut up?!" Gary exclaims.

"Are you guys always this professional?" Sunshine remarks.

"Listen—!" He whirls on Sunshine, who raises a brow in response, and breathes heavily, trying to control his temper. "Listen." Gary's voice returns to its normal level. He clears his throat. "Investigating paranormal activities is a serious profession, and I am one of the top professionals in the profession."

Sunshine and Kat stare at him.

"I don't doubt that," Sunshine says sarcastically.

Suddenly, something in the kitchen moves — like a chair sliding across the ground — and Lionel jumps to his feet, eyes wide. "Woah, what was that?" Gary slides past the camera man, peering into the empty room.

"It was probably Anna," Sunshine shrugs, she and Kat beginning to follow. "Or her father."

Gary grabs the wall and uses it to whirl himself around, eyes wide. "Anna has a father?"

"Yeah."

"Is he a ghost too?"

"Yes, um... he's typically more aggressive, so I kinda hope it's not him."

Lionel moves to the base of the stairs, peering up. "More aggressive, you say?" He turns to both women.

"Yeah."

A bang upstairs freezes both Sunshine and Kat in place. Lionel and Gary jump, caught off guard.

"Okay," Gary breathes nervously, voice shaking. "We should— probably go upstairs."

Sunshine nods.

Gary begins to walk to the base of the stairs, but Lionel pushes him back, eyes wide. "Woah woah woah, do you think that's a good idea—?"

"We're professionals, Lionel," Gary says uncertainly, clearly not wanting to go upstairs.

"Let's not do this," Lionel says, voice dropping several octaves.

"We have to do it!" Gary whisper-yells back.

Lionel sighs and steps back, running a hand through his messy black hair.

Gary turns to the women. "Sunshine, would you like to lead the way?"

"No." Sunshine shakes her head, arms crossed. "I think I'll let the professionals handle it."

Gary stares. "Right. Of course." He makes a sort of whimper-grunt and breathes, grabbing his colleague's shoulder and shoving him forward. "Let's go, Lionel."

Lionel uses the wall to hold himself in place, terrified.

"Just— go," Gary hisses.

Lionel defensively holds out his hands but walks up the stairs. Sunshine makes another face. Gary follows, both men inching their way up, cameraman following.

A door slams and Lionel nearly loses his footing. Gary jerks back. "Jesus," he mutters furiously, grunting. "God." The door continues slamming back and forth as Lionel makes it to the second level. Gary follows, trembling. "Sunshine?! How are you doing this?!"

"Doing this?" she snaps back. "I don't have super long arms!"

"It's the ghost," Kat defends.

"The... dad ghost?" Lionel asks hesitantly as Gary slowly makes his way through the dark hallway toward Sunshine's room.

"Well... yeah, probably," Kat says. Lionel leans his head back, terrified. "He's a lot more violent."

"Whoever is in there," Gary states loudly, voice shaking so badly it's hard to understand exactly what he's saying, "please show yourself!" He breathes and leans his hand against the wall. "Whoever is in there, please stop slamming the door!"

It gives one final shove then stops. Silence falls through the house.

"Nice one, Gary!" Lionel smiles and pats his friend's shoulder. "Yeah, that's what I'm talking' about!"

Gary giggles and turns, smiling, hand over his chest. "Thank you!"

"See, that's how we do this!"

"Wasn't that good?" Gary laughs, grinning.

"Oh, man," Lionel nods, smiling widely, "you're so good."

Sunshine looks at the camera, unamused. Kat looks between the two 'professionals.'

"No," Sunshine says, curling her lip in disgust.

Gary lifts his hand weakly and it drops. "Fine, but..." He sucks in a breath and faces the camera. Lionel nods, following his gaze. "Now, we will finally be able to see if Sunshine is, in fact, hiding someone in her room."

Sunshine and Kat shakes their heads in exasperation.

Gary walks down the hallway to Sunshine's room, hesitating before the closed door. He grabs the doorknob and gasps when the lights cut off. "Who turned out the lights?!"

The cameraman flicks the camera light on.

"Everybody, downstairs," Gary orders like an angry dad, but his terror seeps through. "Hurry!"

Sunshine and Kat go first. Lionel follows, practically leaping down the stairs. Cameraman is next with Gary at the rear, feet moving faster than he can even think. Lionel moves into the living room, hands on his head, whimpering.

"Okay," Gary demands, still scared, "what just happened?!"

"She just likes to do that," Sunshine says.

"What?"

"Cut the power!"

"Cut— really," Lionel says in disbelief, "how do you live like this?"

"We've just gotten used to it," Sunshine defends.

"No, I think it's worse because you guys are here," Kat frowns, looking at Gary and Lionel. "I don't think Anna likes being called a fake..."

"Okay, well—" Lionel raises his arms, yelling as he looks at the ceiling, "hey, Anna? Just for the record, I, Lionel, do not think you're fake, okay? We cool, Anna? Anna, we cool?"

"Lionel, shut up!" Gary snaps, exhausted.

"So... what now, you guys?" Sunshine asks.

"Sunshine, I need you to tell me—" Gary says, desperately searching for an answer, "is this just some elaborate hoax, or is what is happening actually happening?!"

"What—" Kat throws her arms out. "She isn't David Blaine, how could she make all this happen?!"

"Shh, shh shh!" Lionel jerks forward, eyes wide, hand on Kat's shoulder. Everyone looks at him. "I hear something."

"Oh, crap!" Gary exclaims, flinching.

"What?!" Kat exclaims.

"Oh, I just felt something touch the back of my neck!" he whimpers.

"Oh," Lionel groans, "come on, Gary!"

"Hand to God, Lionel!" he exclaims in a shaky voice, raising his arm.

"That's... your left hand," Sunshine mutters.

Kat screams and everyone looks at her.

"What?!" Gary demands.

She looks around. "Something just grabbed my butt!"

"What?" Sunshine looks at her mother like she's grown a second head.

"Yes!" Kat defends, nodding.

Everyone looks at Lionel. He realizes he's being blamed. "What?! It's a ghost, right?" He shrugs lamely.

"Ugh!" Kat shoves his shoulder. "Keep your Dorito paws off me, you freak."

"Hey," he says, not even trying to defend himself, "what are you talkin' about, man?" He raises his arms. "It was probably the dad ghost, yo. Dad ghosts always like to grab ass."

The door to that bathroom suddenly slams shut. Gary shouts and everyone else gasps.

"Where was that?" Gary says.

"The bathroom," Sunshine responds, trembling.

"Uh oh," Kat murmurs, soothingly laying a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"Whaddya mean, uh oh?" Lionel asks.

"Anna's father used to lock her in the restroom," Sunshine nervously answers. "In the dark."

"Oh." Lionel nods.

Kat frowns. "It's... really bad when it gets like this."

"Perfect."

"Daddy?" A little girl voice chimes from the bathroom. Anna.

Sunshine stiffens.

"Is that her?" Gary whispers.

"Yeah," Sunshine says.

"Daddy?" Anna says again.

"The bathroom?" Gary murmurs. Everyone nears the door.

"Yeah."

"Daddy, please help me! I need help!"

"Oh my god," Gary says, shocked.

"You should try calling out to her," Kat suggests.

"It hurts!" Anna sobs.

Gary nears the door, terrified. "Are you there, Anna?"

He flinches and shouts when the doorknob begins to jiggle violently. "Go back, back back back!"

"No!" Sunshine and Kat say.

"What do you mean, no?!"

"Daddy!"

"You have to open the door!" Sunshine says.

"I'm not gonna open the door!"

"Daddy, please help me!"

Gary shakes his head and throws himself forward, grabbing the doorknob and slamming it open.

Silence.

Gary desperately looks for someone in the bathroom and runs out, shaking like a leaf. "Tell me how you did this," he demands.

Both women look at him. Seriously?

"Lionel!" Gary suddenly snaps. "I thought you had this under control!"

Sunshine looks then turns her head away. "Ew..."

They look down. His pants are wet. He totally pissed himself. "I did too," he says, trembling.

Gary looks past the women into the kitchen, eyes wide.

"What?" Sunshine asks.

"Anna," he whispers.

Everyone turns to see Anna staring at them, black gown with the burlap sack and all. She walks behind the wall, shielded from view, and Gary makes chase. He stops at the base of the stairs and looks up at the looming darkness. Anna stands there, staring at him.

"She's waiting for you," Sunshine says.

Gary swallows. "Me?"

"Yeah. You've been trying to talk to her all night. Now's your chance to prove all of this is fake."

Gary looks over. "Lionel, come on."

"Woah, Gary—" He puts his hands out. "I can't. Look, I already went number one on myself. I go up those stairs? It's not gonna be pretty. You know what I mean?"

Gary looks at him in disgust and turns back to Anna. "Sunshine, let's go."

"No, this one's all you," she insists, then laughs. "I've lived with Anna long enough to know she doesn't like to be toyed with. Besides. This could all be a trap and her dad could be up there waiting for you." Sunshine smiles. "Good luck."

"Well." Gary breathes harshly. "Tonight is the night that Gary goes from ghost hunting professional to ghost hunting legend."

Sunshine rolls her eyes.

"I am about to discover the truth behind Sunshine's YouTube videos, and discover whether this is all real, or if it is, as so many of you YouTubers have accused her of, if it is all just fake. Tonight, I cement my legend as the greatest ghost hunting professional in the history of the world." He looks at the camera, completely serious. Sunshine is unamused. "If it's real, then tonight we will have collected more footage of paranormal activity than any ghost hunter in the history of ghost hunters collecting paranormal activity footage."

Sunshine looks at him. "Are you just gonna keep talking, or are you gonna go up?"

"I'm going," he insists, hesitating. Gary begins the climb. "Anna? I don't wanna hurt you." His voice wavers. "I just want to touch you. But— not in a creepy way, I promise."

Anna begins to move backwards without using her feet, darkness swallowing her body as she nears Sunshine's room.

Gary whirls around. "Forget it, it's real, it's all real!" he yells and throws himself to the front door. "Lionel, come on, let's get out of here!" He opens the door and runs out. Lionel quickly follows, nearly busting his ass he's running so fast.

Sunshine watches them leave and can't help herself.

She laughs.
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So, now that everyone's all caught up on the situation, Sunshine is getting a shitload of calls from Gary and Lionel.

They insist they want to meet with her again, so, hey, it can't hurt, can it? And besides, they added some 'comic relief,' and even if they're terrible paranormal investigators, maybe they can stick around for Marcie's job request.

Maybe.

ayyy chapter 60!!!

anyway the investigation gary and lionel did is hilarious, a true piece of comedy. gives memories to season 1 ;,) nostalgia eh? we've come so far