Into the Void

I lay out across the bed, my head over the edge. I look upside down at Stefan. He smiles at me, still sitting on my chair. He's upset with me, because I had been hanging out with Joshua lately. Stefan refuses to leave us alone at any moment. I even caught him waiting outside the bathroom at school. I think it has something to do with teenage hormones. Joshua seems harmless though.

Stefan swings the chair around. "What are you doing today, love?" He takes a lock of hair and starts to chew on it.

"Joshua is coming over for dinner." That caught Stefan off guard, as he spits out his hair and stops spinning.

"He is coming over?!" Stefan gets down to look me right in the eyes. "Why are you letting him over?" He emphasizes "him" like he is some kind of disease.

I roll over, throwing my head into my bed. He sounds like a jealous boyfriend. It's really starting to irritate me. "He is my friend." I muffle out. I can feel the bed move; Stefan must have sat down. He is bouncing softly, trying to get me to look at him.

Stefan takes a deep breath. "I'm not going to let you alone with him."

When do you ever?

***

I lean softly on the couch, waiting for Joshua. This is the first time in a long time I brought home a living friend. Arthur had cleaned himself up for tonight. I look down at my black dress; I want to look pretty. I have no idea why I was acting this way. It only made Stefan mad. He sat on a chair, staring at the door.

Knock. knock, knock.

Jumping up I holler, "I'm comin'!" I run towards the door and swing it open to Joshua. He blushes lightly, I'm still just grinning away. "Come in, " I say and yank him in. It was exciting to have a new friend. This one I can talk to outside, and inside. I can even hang out with him. No one can call me crazy for hanging out with a normal boy.

"DON'T LET HIM IN!" Stefan cries, blocking the way. I ignore him, feeling so lucky that Joshua cannot see him. We walk past him, a chill runs through me. Stefan really is angry.

Joshua squirms, his freckled face is a bright red. He holds out a simple wild flower. "I thought you might like this." He shyly lets me take it from him. I smile and stick it in my hair. I thank him and bring him over to Arthur. Arthur is just standing there, fidgeting with his white shirt. He almost looks the same as he did when Mom was alive.

"Arthur, this is Joshua. Josh, this is my step-dad Arthur." I watch as they shake hands, like normal people do. It felt amazing to be normal for once. Absolutely amazing. Stefan is just a blur; his body half merged in the wall. I smile to him, so he will know everything is okay. He keeps his eyes on Joshua.

Arthur refuses to let me serve anyone, and makes us sit down. For the first time I felt like a real teenager. For an hour Joshua and I ate, he gulped down his meal in minutes. It a was pleasant change. Joshua kindly kicks him from under the table. I just stare down in amazement. He blushes and apologizes for being a klutz. It's so new; that never happened to me before.

I grin and do it back. We continue doing that for a while. I enjoy every minute of it.

Too soon and it's time for Joshua to leave. While we are standing outside, he presses himself to me and wraps his arms around me. It was a hug. An actual real hug. I squeeze back, making myself light headed. I let go, then my head starts to spin. It felt weird, luckily Joshua didn't notice. I straggle back inside, telling Arthur I'm too tired and I am going to bed.

Stefan is floating beside me, asking a million questions. "What's wrong? Why are tired? Did he touch you? Why won't you answer me?!"

"Stefan, I don't know what's wrong. I'm just going to lay down so I can feel better."

I crawl into bed, shedding most of my clothes. I didn't feel like getting in my pajamas. Stefan lifts my blanket up and covers me. It didn't help, I was still getting cold. I shiver, guessing its just him again. Stefan moves away and sits in the chair. My head is still spinning, and my stomach starts to turn. I think I ate something that didn't agree with me. Moaning, I clutch myself.

"AIMEE KEEP YOUR EYES SHUT!" Stefan shouts out the order. Immediately I open my eyes and come face to face with It again. It's the shadow person from the grave yard. I scream, trying to find my flashlight. Any kind of light will freak them out. I'm too slow and Stefan tackles him, sputtering out curse words.

"STEFAN!" I finally find the light and I shine it on both of them. Stefan and it disappear. Arthur runs inside my room in his boxers, demanding what is going on. "I had a horrible dream. I'm so sorry I disturbed you."