Darkness Falls

Stumbling

(For the above art, the characters belong to me and the original template belongs to its owner.)

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I don't belong anywhere. This has been the thought that has run through my mind for as long as I can remember. I'm just your average teenage girl. I'm not super pretty or really good at any one thing. I'm pathetically average in every way. Although I've been bullied my whole life, I don't think it's possible for anyone to hate me more than I hate myself. No matter what I do, I don't seem to progress at all. I feel like everyone has something that makes them special but me. I always feel like a third wheel, the odd woman out, no matter the situation.

Sometimes I wonder why I'm even here at all.

Heh, if my best friend heard me talking this way he'd tell me never to fucking say that. He's the only one who's ever been able to convince me I'd be missed if I committed suicide. And no, I'm not a hot emo girl either. I'm average looking with muddy hazel eyes and thin brown hair. My eyes and hair are so dark they look black in pictures, always making me look like a demon or a psychopath, even when I smile.

I like to sing but I'm not all that great at it. There's this boy at school though, no one ever thought much of him either. He might be hot but he's really standoffish. Most people avoid him, and I did too until I heard him sing. His friends have a band and their lead singer lost his voice but they wanted to practice. After much begging they convinced him to be a stand-in. I bet they regretted not having him as the lead in the first place. It wasn't just his voice either, but his body language. His stage presence was insane! He was so intense it was like I was hypnotized by him. Ok, I might have a crush, but this wasn't because of any rose coloured glasses. Even the band was stunned by how good he was. I knew none of them would pay me any mind. I was jealous that I'd never be that good at anything. But at least I can support them right?

He and I happen to walk the same way home fairly often but we still never talk. One time, I saw him vanish into thin air. 

I'm not crazy! It kind of looked like he stepped through a curtain, but no matter how hard I looked I couldn't find him. It wouldn't be too surprising to find out that he also happened to be a magician who didn't like a creepy girl like me knowing where he lived. 

The only problem is, he wouldn't show up for school for a day or more after each time he vanished. Sometimes when he finally came back he seemed different. I became really worried for him, so I decided to keep a look out for where and when he disappeared, trying to find some pattern. The disappearances seemed to be random, and last time he was gone for a week! What if he was in trouble? With that worry in mind, I decided not to let him vanish again.

About a week later, it happened.

We were walking home when he started to vanish. Again, it was like he was stepping through an invisible curtain, his foot disappearing first, then his ankle. I ran towards him, calling his name and reaching out for him. If he keeps doing this, he might vanish forever! Suddenly, I tripped on something and stumbled into him. I looked up to apologize, but the words caught in my throat.

I had succeeded, he hadn't vanished. 

Somehow, the street had.

I swallowed pas the lump in my throat, "Daemon, where..?"

He stared at me in shock, his voice no more than a whisper, just like mine, when he asked, "What have you done...?"

"Sorry, not sorry?" I tried to sound aloof but it just came out sheepishly pathetic.

He let out a stream of curse words, some of which I'd never heard before. After a moment, he sighed.

"Just..." he ran his hand through his dark hair, "stay close to me and do everything I tell you exactly how I tell you."