It was time for Taylor to fulfill her part of the deal. Colby was allowed to get anything he wanted from Amazon for $100.

"So, where do we start? Do you have anything in mind?" she asked, looking at her ghost who was sitting just a few millimeters away. They both had a perfect view on Taylor's laptop, which already had Amazon open.

Colby rubbed his hands together excitedly and leaned in close to Taylor, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "Well, I definitely want clothes."

"Okay, fashion freak. What'll it be?"

"What do your sneakers look like these days? Any cool stuff?"

Taylor nodded and handed him the laptop. "Browse yourself, it's time you learn a bit about modern technology."

"Really? Awesome!" Colby browsed through the selection of sneakers on the screen while Taylor patiently sat next to him. But after a few minutes of scrolling, the frat boy's expression soured a bit.

"What's wrong?" Taylor asked, noticing he seemed hesitant.

"I don't know. A lot of these shoes look kinda... gay," Colby finally admitted.

Taylor raised her eyebrows in surprise. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, they're so... colorful and flashy. With all these bright colors and patterns. And the shapes, why are there triangular holes at the bottom? How are you supposed to clean those if you step in dog shit?" Colby asked, pointing to some of the shoes on the screen. "I mean, I have nothing against gay people, but I'd just like to find something that suits my style more, you know?"

Taylor frowned and considered how to respond best. "Colby, I get that you have your own style, but maybe you could express that differently. Using gay as a negative term is really not okay. Times have changed."

"Oh, don't get me wrong. I have nothing against gay people, really."

"Still. Please don't say things like that, okay?"

Colby understood that he had said something wrong. But how should he explain? It was probably time to share a story from his life. "My fraternity, Tau Alpha Nu, or TAN for short, was pretty disgusting before my time there. It felt like it was full of racist assholes from wealthy families. The kind of guys who went to college on Daddy's money. Tau Alpha Nu was also really feared on campus. I mean, I can't blame anyone. It wouldn't have surprised me if some of them had been in the Ku Klux Klan. What I'm saying is, they were also really vicious to gay people. Violent. This sounds very noble, but then I came along. There weren't any other fraternities back then, for fear another TAN would be born. And Tau Alpha Nu itself was just too big, or at least the fear was too big, to shut it down. So I joined. I thought a fraternity would look good on applications or something. I didn't know what they were like. So I joined. And I really cleaned up that fraternity, Tay."

"I didn't know that," Taylor said, closing the laptop for now.

"It was tough in the beginning," Colby continued. "I was the new guy, the kid fresh out of high school who had no idea what college was really about. But I was the best athlete Clinton had ever seen, so I was super popular. I built my own power and used it to kick out all the assholes, one by one. Eventually, there were almost no members left, so I opened the gates of Tau Alpha Nu a bit wider. You didn't have to be a rich guy anymore, hell, you didn't even have to be white. That never mattered to me anyway. As if the world didn't have bigger problems than skin color. Anyway, Tau Alpha Nu got better. Nicer. The fear of the fraternity was replaced with genuine respect. We formed our own sports team, helped out around the university, of course drank a lot and fooled around, smoked a shit ton of weed, but overall we were a good fraternity. Somehow, we became role models, even though most of us were high 24/7. Other fraternities were allowed at the university again. Because of us. And we were just a bunch of guys wanting to make a difference and get laid a lot. We were like real brothers. Not just among ourselves, but for the whole university. Then a new guy came along. Levi."

"What about him?" Taylor asked eagerly. She hadn't expected such a story at all.

"You could tell right away that Levi was different somehow. He was quiet, sure, nothing wrong with that, but it was a huge contrast to his brothers. Levi, Levi was gay." He took a deep breath. "For many of us, that was completely new, you understand? We weren't an anti-gay fraternity anymore, but we weren't exactly open to such topics either. You have to understand, it was a different time. People just didn't talk about it. But Levi changed all that."

Taylor nodded encouragingly. "What do you mean?"

"He just did his own thing, you know? He was authentic, didn't pretend or hide. And that earned our respect," Colby explained, gathering his thoughts. "Of course, there were some who didn't know how to deal with it. Some didn't want to be in the same shower with him. But most of us accepted him as he was. We didn't care that he was gay. He was just Levi, our brother. We didn't treat anyone differently just because they got off on boys. Not on my watch."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"That's nice to hear."

"At Tau Alpha Nu, it was normal to have student jobs alongside our studies. Things like being a barista or even just mowing lawns. To finance our party life. And the weed. Weed is expensive, you know that? Levi had applied for a job as a waiter at a restaurant on campus. They didn't hire him because they didn't want fags. And now guess what Tau Alpha Nu did."

"Beat up the owner?" guessed Taylor.

"I would have loved to, but we wanted to do something that hurt more than my punches. And trust me, I can hit pretty damn hard," he laughed. "We simply stopped going to that restaurant. Just like that. Tau Alpha Nu was the shit on campus. Okay, eventually we started spreading rumors that you could get hepatitis from their food – and I don’t even know if that’s possible, but somehow people believed us – and no one went there anymore. They had to shut down. Felt pretty good to achieve that, I'll tell you honestly."

"And Levi?"

"He eventually got a job at a clothing store. He really liked it there. Levi van Doren, the fashion expert."

Taylor choked and then looked at Colby in disbelief. "Wait a second, van Doren? Really? Levi van Doren?"

"Yeah, that was his name, why?"

Taylor took the laptop back, opened it, and typed Dore-Moi into the Amazon search bar. "If that’s really the Levi van Doren, then he’s super famous today. He has his own fashion label."

"Really?!"

"Absolutely." She handed the laptop back to Colby. "Here, look. He has so many creations, and all of them are insanely expensive."

Colby scrolled through the search results, surprised by what he saw. There were shirts, pants, shoes, underwear—everything was in the style of the 2000s with a touch of modernity so the colors didn’t stand out too much. "Holy shit, this stuff looks good. And not at all gay—uh, I mean, extravagant," he corrected himself, earning a small kiss on the cheek from Taylor.

"Better," she grinned. "You learn fast."

Colby was pleasantly surprised by the kiss, but he was too distracted by Levi's obvious success story. "So, uh, about that kiss, we'll come back to that, you can bet on it," he said happily. "But I know where I want to put that 100 dollars now."

"Let me guess, a few originals from Levi van Doren?" Taylor smiled, and Colby nodded happily. "Then go for it, Ghost Boy."

Days passed. While Levi's brand Dore-Moi was horribly expensive for Taylor's taste—after all, the 100 dollars only covered a single shirt—Colby was happy, and that was what mattered. He was even happier when the shirt finally arrived. He wore nothing else for two days straight.

Eventually, Colby decided to teleport himself to Levi's place, just to see how he was doing. Although Levi lived in New York, the distance was no great challenge for Colby's abilities. Of course, Levi couldn't see or hear him, but Colby learned a lot about his former fraternity brother, who was now much older. Levi had a huge penthouse, was happily married to a man whose muscles, according to Colby, even rivaled his own—"Damn, good catch, Levi!"—and they had two adorable Shih Tzus.

The invisible ghost didn't leave Levi's side all day, observing him and his husband later at dinner. The two men sat close together, laughing and exchanging loving glances. The scene touched Colby in an unexpected way. It was heartwarming to see how happy Levi was, how he enjoyed life to the fullest. Even though it was really weird to see Levi now so old and grown-up.

As dinner came to an end and Levi and his partner snuggled up on the couch to watch a movie, Colby decided to withdraw. He had seen enough to know that Levi was in good hands and leading a fulfilling life.

Back in Taylor's apartment, there was no sign of his girl, as he liked to playfully call Taylor. She was probably at work but should be back soon. She had never revealed to him what exactly she did for work. Taylor had even forbidden him from accompanying her. Colby respected this wish, even though he was really curious. But right now, he had completely different thoughts on his mind.

Levi became a fashion designer and is now rich. He's married, has dogs, and is happy because he has found his place in the world. Colby wondered what would have become of him. Would he have had a successful sports career? Or perhaps as a model? He was sure he would have made it far. Because if there was one thing Colby wasn't, it was a self-doubting person. Not just that, he was terribly arrogant and was more than aware of his looks and skills.

Would his naked torso have ended up in Playgirl magazines someday? Sure, he didn't just see himself as a piece of meat, but secretly, he liked it when others saw him that way sometimes. He liked the attention. Colby allowed himself a glance in the mirror and smiled contentedly. Yes, he would have made it far.

Perhaps he would have become a sought-after fitness model, with endorsement deals for sportswear and protein shakes. He could grace the covers of fitness magazines, with a perfectly defined body and a radiant smile that made his fans' hearts skip a beat. Or maybe he would have opted for a career in the entertainment industry, as an actor or even as the host of his own TV show. He could vividly imagine himself posing on red carpets, surrounded by cameras, giving interviews, and signing autographs for his fans.

The idea of being in the spotlight filled him with a sense of excitement and euphoria. He loved being in the limelight, admired, and desired. It was like a drug for him, the sweetest kind of addiction he could imagine. He took many drugs, but nothing compared to the feeling of being worshipped. And then there were the privileges that came with fame. The luxurious villas, the expensive cars, the exotic trips around the world – all that would have been just part of his everyday life. He would have enjoyed life to the fullest, without ever having to worry about money or other material concerns. And the girls. The girls!

Colby sighed contentedly and let his gaze glide over his body once again. Yes, he was sure he had what it took to become a real superstar. With his looks, charm, and confidence, he could have achieved anything he set his mind to. Yet even in his daydreams of fame and fortune, Colby never forgot who he really was. A ghost, albeit a super hot ghost, but a ghost who existed by Taylor's side and accompanied her on her adventure of life. And even though he sometimes dreamed of a world of glamour, he knew that his true happiness lay in the simple joys of life: in love, in friendship, and in the precious moments of togetherness. With Taylor.

Hardly had he thought of her when he heard the keys at the apartment door. That must be her. She swung the door open, slammed it shut, and breathed heavily.

"What's wrong?" Colby asked, concerned, and immediately teleported to Taylor to hold her in his arms.

"Harper," she began, panicked. "She's out of the hospital."