The neighborhood rumbled with life of its own. Music, shouting, barefoot kids running around, laughter spilling from a group playing dominoes right in the street.
"Damn, this place is on fire!" Ghost shouted, letting himself be swept away by the atmosphere.
"Hey! Ghost is here!" his friends called out. Joan, Ocho, 006, Leo… they were all there.
Laughter mixed with stories from the night before. Fights, bets, drinking. Typical.
"Let's bet again!" yelled Nueve, still stung by his last loss.
"I'm in, but no money this time. Make it harder," Ghost challenged.
"Then… the loser calls their ex and begs them to get back together."
The explosion of laughter was instant. The game was rough. In the end, Ocho and Leo lost. The calls were as comical as they were tragic. Then Ghost and Joan got cocky… and lost by a mile.
"Now pay up!" bellowed 006.
"What? Running naked through the streets? Hell no!" Joan yelled.
"Come on!" Ghost was already stripping, grinning wildly. "It's just a race… our kind of crazy."
The challenge: run naked, knocking on doors around the neighborhood. The others followed on bikes, making sure the cops didn't show up.
At first it was just a fun bit of madness. But soon enough, they ran into a patrol car. Joan nearly fainted from the scare. Ghost, on the other hand, bolted like lightning. He slipped through alleyways until he reached Willy's house.
"What the hell are you doing naked at two in the morning?!" Willy growled, reluctantly letting him in.
"Just give me some clothes and don't say a word!"
Willy went upstairs to grab something. Ghost, unable to resist, raided the fridge. What he didn't know… was that Ninna and Ashley were in the kitchen.
Gustavo shut the fridge door with one hand while balancing a bowl overflowing with fried rice, half a roasted chicken, and what looked like a whole avocado in the other. He turned around, satisfied with his loot—only to find two pairs of wide eyes staring at him from the kitchen table, as if they'd just witnessed a paranormal event.
"…Shit…" he muttered under his breath. Then he smiled—that kind of smile that doesn't apologize because it doesn't think it's done anything wrong, even though the scene screamed otherwise. "Uh… hi, girls. I just came for some food. That's all. I'll be on my way."
Ashley stared at him as if trying to decide whether she was dreaming or if this boy she had once shared heavy silences with was truly standing there, completely naked, raiding the fridge as if it were part of his nightly routine.
Ninna was the first to react. Arms crossed, eyebrow raised, tongue sharp and ready.
"My God, Ghost. Don't you have a shred of shame? Who breaks into someone's house naked to loot the kitchen?"
"Hey, hey! When you put it like that, it sounds worse… okay, it looks worse too," he replied with a shrug. He didn't even bother covering himself. "But the point is, I just came for clothes. And food. But then I'm gone."
"Incredible!" Ninna exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "I have to apologize for breathing too loud in the middle of the night, but you can just show up as God made you and act like this is just another chapter in your life!"
"Isn't it?" Ghost joked, shoving a spoonful of rice into his mouth as if they were having a normal conversation with clothes and dignity intact.
Ninna looked at him like she was weighing whether to throw a spoon at his head or just surrender to his audacity. In the end, she huffed and stood up.
"I'm going to bed. Because, unlike some people, I have something called decency and dignity."
Ghost lifted the bowl in a mock toast.
"Good night, Ninna. Sweet dreams of men… dressed."
"Hopefully you won't appear in them," she shot back, giving him a shove on the shoulder as she walked past.
As Ninna disappeared down the hallway, Ghost lowered his gaze and found Ashley still frozen, clutching a teacup so tightly her knuckles were white. Her face was completely flushed, as if she were about to turn into steam.
He tried to speak but had no idea what to say. The silence thickened. One second. Two. Three. Then she looked away and bowed her head, as if meeting his eyes might burn her.
"I… I didn't know you were here," she whispered.
Ghost scratched the back of his neck with his free hand, suddenly feeling clumsy and, for the first time that night, a little guilty. His voice changed. He wasn't the joker anymore, nor the shameless one. He sounded softer, more… human.
"I didn't know you were here either… I thought it was just Willy."
"You thought wrong."
Ghost set the bowl down on the counter and, for the first time since he'd walked in, instinctively grabbed a kitchen towel to cover himself.
"It was a bet," he explained. "You know… one of those stupid things you do with friends when you think nothing matters."
Ashley looked up. Not at his body, but at his eyes. In her expression was a mixture of surprise, disappointment, and something she couldn't quite name. Disillusion? Doubt? Curiosity?
"And does it matter?"
"I don't know," he admitted honestly. "Tonight I thought it didn't, but now… you're here, and I guess it does. At least a little."
Ashley looked away, unable to hold his gaze for more than a few seconds.
"I don't understand anything about you."
"Me neither," Ghost said with a tired smile. "But… I'm not as bad as I seem, Ash."
She blinked. The nickname sounded different coming from his lips. More intimate.
"And I'm not as good as I seem."
A brief silence. Then both of them smiled, just barely.
That's when Willy came down the stairs, phone in hand, and snapped another photo.
"Willy! Damn it! Again?!" Ghost exclaimed, slipping back into his usual tone.
"My house, my rules," Willy said without looking up. "By the way, George is on his way. I brought you some clothes, but if you want to stay in Adam mode, suit yourself."
Ghost took the clothes and, while reluctantly getting dressed, glanced back at Ashley.
"Guess I'll see you later… under more… dressed circumstances."
Ashley nodded, her cheeks still burning, the cup trembling slightly in her hands.
Ghost stepped out the door, and as he said goodbye, he threw her one last look. It wasn't mocking. It was light, uncertain. Like someone who wanted to say something but didn't know if he had the right.
Willy closed the door behind him.
Ashley remained in her chair, heart pounding.
"God… why are men like this?" Ninna muttered from the hallway without even looking. "They're like they're from another planet, right, Ash?"
"…Yeah. Another planet," Ashley whispered. But not with disgust. More with something like fascinated unease.