Yearning//Enoch O'Connor

Out of the Cage

Heart pounding. It was all I could hear. Blood sloshed through my ears and my veins pulsated madly. I now knew just what I was, and could be. Enoch was crestfallen. I suddenly released the heart from my soft grip, and it met the floor with a splat.

"I'm... this means I'm the same as you, right?" I gulped.

"I think so. God I really think so." Enoch backed away.

"I should tell the bird."

"You should tell everyone." 

In a momentary rush, I was downstairs. Miss Peregrine was perched on the couch, indulging herself in reading a small volume. Her head jolted up as she forced a smile.

"My dear, why are you up at this hour?" She inquired as she cocked her head.

"I've found out what I am." I answered simply.

"Whatever do you mean?" She rose from her seat.

"I'm what Enoch is. A dead riser I think it's called?"

"My dear! How did you discover this?" 

I revealed the story to her, she grew more inclined with every syllable that escaped my lips. When I was finished, she put her hand on my shoulder, and led me upstairs. 

"We will figure out a way for you to practice your peculiarity... perhaps Enoch could be your mentor. But that will wait until the morning. Now you must sleep." She thoughtfully commanded.

"Miss Peregrine," I stopped before I entered my room. "Thank you."

She nodded, a knowing nod that implied that she knew why I was thanking her. "You are ever so welcome, child."

And with that, she flourished away. 

-

-

The boy with the darkness under his eyes waited for me in our shared space. His eyes spoke volumes without him having to pronounce a mere syllable. Fear and confusion swam in their grey hues, accompanied by a reverence, excitement, and yearning. My brown ones met his, and he understood. 

"How did it go? You weren't gone for too long." He remarked.

"It went well. Miss Peregrine thinks that you might have to be my uh... how did she say it? Mentor. That's it." I responded, descending to the cream carpet. 

"A mentor? Bah! I had to figure everythin' out myself, so why should you get everything I know on a silver platter?!" Enoch spat, his heavy cockney accent becoming thicker with each annunciation. 

"Hey! Why do you have a qualm with teaching me? I thought there was something... never mind. But the least you could do is show me the basics!" I shot up from my resting spot, my legs fully stretched as I towered at least 5 inches above him. I was hurt. Just moments ago we had embraced in the recklessness of youth, yet now he was turning on me, revealing a darker side. 

"I don't care. I'm gonna go to bed. Don't do anything stupid while I'm asleep, Dorian." The boy promptly vacated his seat on the floor, and filled a spot on his bed. 

My stomach filled with a unbridled confusion, laced with hatred and anger. I dropped to the ground, my world becoming twisted and unknown. I forced out a sob, and a salinized water dripped onto the ground. My eyes leaked spiderwebs of despair; constellations of misery. The shell of my peculiarity cracked open, revealing a gooey center of thriving trepidation crawling out. Now I had to face the harsh reality of my newfound powers. Was I spiraling into hysterics for an invalid reason? Possibly. But I was also accepting the magnitude of the world I had just entered, and was not permitted to leave. Now I knew for certain that I was susceptible to the grotesque monsters lurking in the dark- anticipating the next peculiar that they would get to devour. My emotions overwhelmed me as I sank further and further downwards to the cushion of the floor, where stringy cream outcroppings were my only condolence. My soul sang a tune of innocence lost, and I submitted to the balmy hand of sleep. 

As I slumbered, I forgot about the boy with jealous eyes snoring just four feet away from me. We were the same in many ways, except he was on a bed, and I was on the floor. 

Little did I know, thoughts swarmed his mind like hornets, musings of envy, mostly. He had always found solace in the fact that he was different than the others. Granted, every peculiar is unique, however he enjoyed the morbidity of his abilities. Now I had come into the picture. I was competition, in a twisted way, however that was how he perceived it. I was seen as a misfortune, not an ally. I was also the person he thought he could be loved by, and maybe, perhaps adore, one day. Just maybe. And Enoch O'Connor didn't fall in love quickly, or at all  for that matter. Contradicting feelings shackled him to the belief that I was in fact something that would change his life forever, and that thought wasn't completely incorrect. 

A/N

Sorry this was a little short, I have recently been trying to spice up my writing a bit! I started writing this about a month ago, and I got about 300 words in. I just revisited it tonight, and I guess you can see how much better the writing is after the first big paragraph break. 

I hope y'all enjoyed!🖤💀