A Kiss With A Fist (is better than none)

(A/N: This is basically just 3000 words of hurting Reggie without a plot. The idea of Reggie having glow stars on his ceiling wouldn't leave me alone, so it eventually turned into this. I hope you enjoy! Title is from 'Kiss With a Fist' by Florence + The Machine (of course). tw: nothing too bad, Reggie's dad shoves him and they yell a lot.)

October 1984

Reggie is six years old when he realizes there are monsters in his house.

He knows they only come out at night, when he and his parents are tucked into bed. Sometimes they come even after Reggie falls asleep, waking him up in the middle of the night. When this happens, he covers his ears and hides under the covers.

The monsters aren't very scary, though. At least, not as scary as the monster he saw on the TV at Luke's house. They weren't supposed to be watching it, but Luke's dad hadn't even noticed them hiding behind his recliner.

So the monsters in his home aren't very scary, but they're very loud. Sometimes he hears them knocking things out of the cupboards or slamming doors.

He's been woken up by the monsters three nights in a row when he decides to ask his mom for help.

She's sweeping in the kitchen and muttering to herself when he walks in.

"Mommy," he starts, but she cuts him off almost instantly.

"Don't come in here, Reggie!" She practically shouts. "There's broken glass on the floor, I don't want you to cut yourself."

"Oh," Reggie nods understandingly. She must have heard the monsters too then! And she's being really nice by cleaning up their mess!

"Do you know why they break our things?" Reggie asks. Maybe she has an idea on how to help solve the monsters' problems! His teacher at school says it's better to talk about the things that bother him. Maybe he can help the monsters talk to each other!

But his mom just looks confused. "Who's they, Reggie?"

"The monsters!" He answers. She probably just wants to make sure that's what he's talking about.

"What monsters?" So maybe she doesn't hear them. Oh well, Reggie can explain and she can still help him!

"The ones that come out at night, Mommy." he explains. "I hear them yelling, and sometimes they break our things."

His mom freezes, so he hurries to add, "They're not mean, Mommy. I think they need to talk about their problems, just like Mrs. B said!"

"Reggie," his mom says, kneeling down in front of him. "There are no monsters."

Reggie crosses his arms. She doesn't believe him. "But there are, Mommy." he tries to convince her. "I hear them all the time when I'm trying to go to sleep!"

His mom opens her mouth, then closes it. Reggie hopes she's not going to argue with him anymore.

"How about this, Reg: why don't we get you some glow stars for the ceiling in your room?"

Reggie thinks about this. How will this help him?

His mom must sense his hesitation, because she keeps trying to convince him. "The stars only glow in the dark, and they'll keep away the monsters. You'll be able to fall asleep easier."

"You promise?" Reggie asks. If the answer is as simple as getting some glow stars, then why not?

"Promise." His mom answers. "We'll go to the store after lunch, before your dad gets home. Okay sweetie?"