The next morning Belle was sitting at the dining room table with a cup of coffee staring absentmindedly out the window. The town looked the same as when he was a child. It was a mountain town surrounded by a dense forest. The town was mostly self-sufficient except for a few shops that got their supplies from the city. He's reminded of the fond memories, things like playing in the forest and swimming in the creek. He also got in trouble at school a lot, the teachers never liked him very much. He's brought out of his head after hearing a small bump behind him and turns to find Tommy, bedhead and scowl on his face.
"Not a morning person, eh?" Belle chuckles.
"Shut up and hand me a coffee, then I'll talk," Tommy grumbles. Belle's puff of laughter turns into a raucous roar after Tommy tries to sit down and almost misses the chair. The glare Tommy sends him afterward quickly shuts him up though. He stands up and hurriedly makes his old friend a cup of coffee, handing it to him and sitting back down at the table. He watches as Tommy chugs down the coffee in about five seconds, the cup is still steaming for fucks sake.
"Ahhhh." Tommy sighs an expression of pure bliss on his face. Belle just stares at him in astonishment, did he burn his tongue? He doesn't look like he did. Tommy seems…fine, what kind of superpower was this?
"Right then, let's talk about business," Tommy says, making Belle shake his head to clear up the confusion.
"So, what's the situation with the hot spring?" Belle asks.
"I was brought in as a consultant. The company I was hired by is refurbishing the hot springs because hot springs have come back in fashion. It was fine for the first couple of days, but strange things started happening on the fifth day. As you know, I'm a very superstitious person, so I had a bad feeling and begged them to call it off, but they didn't listen. I decided to call you after finding out you have experience with the supernatural. What I need from you is to figure out if a ghost is there, and if it is, I need you to get rid of it." Tommy explains.
"Hmm, I can probably do what you're asking, but will they let me into the site? I don't particularly want to get arrested for trespassing." Belle replies.
"Don't worry, I can pull some strings and get you in tonight," Tommy answers confidently.
"Kay, I'll be counting on you." Belle winks.
"Mhm, for the time being, why don't you check out the town? Maybe check in with your parents or something." Tommy suggests lightly. Belle freezes for a second, his heart rate picking up and his breathing becoming rough, he forcefully shuts down any reaction and pastes a fake smile on his face when he notices Tommy looking at him.
"U-uhm, y-yeah, I'll head out in an hour thanks for the suggestion," Belle states politely, rising from the table and leaving the room before he freaks out or Tommy asks any questions. An hour later he's dressed and wandering around the town. The place reeks of nostalgia and familiarity, the long-repressed memories flooding back to him as he takes in the sights. The small shops and restaurants littered around the brick roads leading to the town square and fountain in the middle. The people were bustling about, heading to work and shopping, and some kids were skateboarding off to the left of him. He was just wandering around aimlessly when he spotted a small convenience store, he used to go there all the time after school with his friends to buy snacks and hang out in the forest. A small smile graces his face as he walks over and pushes the door open, the bell ringing as he enters.
'Hello, welcome to our-Belle is that you?" A voice questions. Belle turns to find the owner of the store, a small old lady named Margarete, staring at him in confusion.
"Yeah, I'm back in town for something, I'm surprised you still remember me." He admits, sliding up to the counter she's standing behind.
"I could never forget a face, especially one as bright as yours, why did you leave all those years ago?" She asks as concern edges her voice.
"I just needed a change of scenery, sorry for not visiting." He apologizes, wincing slightly at the half-truth.
"It's okay, I'm glad you're back for a visit, how about you pick something out from the store, free of charge." She waves him off, a smile on her face.
"Oh no, I couldn't," Belle argues.
"It's fine, we're doing well business-wise so I don't mind." She tries to convince him. They continue this back and forth for a bit, before Belle relents and picks out a small bag of chips.
"Have a good day, I hope I'll see you again sometime." She calls after him as he leaves the shop, he smiles and shoots her a small wave. He didn't think anyone in town still remembered him besides a few obvious suspects like his friends or his…but it was nice to see a friendly face. After exiting the shop he turns to find a crowd gathering in the town square. Curiosity takes hold and he heads over to see what's happening.
"Gather around, gather around! It's time to hear a message from our very own mayor!" Someone shouts on a megaphone, there's a small stage set up with a podium and a microphone on it. As Belle hears the words they take a second to register, his mind turns blank and he turns around to run away, but finds his path is blocked by people. He hears someone clear their throat on the microphone, the crowd cheers, but it makes his skin crawl as he pushes past the crowd to get away. When he finally makes it out, he makes the mistake of turning back for a split second, he meets eyes with the man standing at the podium, and then he's running away. Why did he even come here, it was a stupid decision, he wasn't ready to face them yet. He runs to a nearby park and finds a bench to sit at, he stays there watching the scenery for the rest of the day, his thoughts muddled and unfocused. He gets up once the sun starts to set, heading off toward the hot springs, maybe doing this mission isn't the best idea right now, but he owes it to Tommy, so he'll do his best.