Just A Peek...!

"Jerimyah!" Kenzo exclaimes happily, clapping his hands together. He loved his imaginary friend.

Jerimyah smiled brightly at Kenzo as he ran up to him. They knew that they can't hug, so they just salute each other instead and giggled.

"Eheheh... We're like soldiers... Anyway, I'm so happy you're back!" Kenzo exclaims sweetly, almost going to hug his best friend.

Jerimyah was the only person that he could be happy around. Everybody at the orphanage knew him to be the kind of kid that grew up too fast, with to much weight on his shoulders; it's not like nobody else was like him, his heart was just darker. But with Jerimyah, he could be happy again - even if he knew that he was just an imaginary friend.

And in this moment, Kenzo smiles contentedly, wanting to stop time so that the sad days will never come.

***

JOHN'S POV:

We walk silently on the sidewalk as we head to the supermarket. Before going there, we went back to the house to drop off her flower pot. I would have preferred to buy the groceries alone, but I don't think that it's a good idea to leave Serenity all by herself.

As we walk along the cement path, I see a black moving blob in the distance. A bird? As I look closely, it seems that the form is getting bigger and bigger, and it seems that it's on the road. What is it? I seems to be coming at an incredibly high speed, and I soon see a small car driving our way.

My heart pounding furiously, I move to the side, temporarily forgetting Serenity. When I finally remember her, it's too late.

The car is right in front of her, and about to hit her. The driver seems out of his mind, driving the car recklessly as his eyes bulge out of their sockets. I see everything as if in slow motion. She's going to get hit!

***

Kenzo stares at the morbid sight before him. A dead deer - shot by a bullet. He feels disgusted and depressed as he tries to suck in the tears threatening to fall. This sight is too traumatizing for a 3 year old. And what's more, he loves animals. However, his father loves to hunt them for fun. The only reason why Kenzo doesn't want to stand up to his father is because he's always so kind with him.

Yet, he sometimes feels like he is a monster behind that mask.

So he stands there, motionless, his sobs folling the air, feeling utterly useless.

***

*Fwoosh!*

My sight is enveloped in black powder flying all around me. It makes me cough a bit. When it finally clears, I am met with the sight of Serenity staring up at me with her beautiful eyes.

I though she...! What happened?!

Serenity cocks her head to the side as if asking me 'Are you ok?'. She doesn't appear to have even a slight scratch on her.

"I'm... Fine." I say a little too sternly, doing my best not to let my voice shake. Maybe it was my imagination? I nodd. I'm sure it was.

As I look around, I see that the car and the driver in it has disappeared, and that everything around me is still intact. What the hell was that. then...?

"Ok," I say, smiling brightly, trying not to seem shaken. "Let's go!" I start walking a little quicker than I was before, and Serenity jogs up to catch up with me.

***

Finally in the market, we shop for food a bit, when we suddenly came across the halloween section.

I internally frown I look at all the decorations they've laid out.

'Do you not like Halloween?' Serenity writes on her notebook. I wonder if we were allowed to bring it in the shop. I don't care, anyways.

"What makes you think that?" I didn't do anything to show her, did I? Did I crack?

'Just a feeling.' She writes, giving me a small smile.

That would be one hell of a hunch. "No, I just wish they had more clown costumes..." I lie, smiling as I keep to my John persona. She's really perceptive.

Still, it isn't just that. I there's something about Serenity that I can't quite put my finger on. Something...

Different.

Still annoying, though. Like everyone else.

"Do you want to get something from there?" I ask, gesturing to the Halloween aisle with my head.

'No thanks.' She writes. 'I don't really like Halloween either.' She shakes her head. I nearly scrunch up my face. Didn't I tell her that I didn't dislike Halloween?

I fight the urge to roll my eyes as I narrow my eyes slightly at her. She's looking around, a serene smile on her face.

***

The next day... At school...

I walk into the classroom, my bag slung over my right shoulder. I smile to some girls and they sigh wistfully as I head to my seat. I have to fight the urge to roll my eyes.

A guy in my class brings his hand up in a motion to high five, and I do just that. After I do so, he looks at his hand in amazement, a slight blush of happiness grazing his light brown cheeks as a goofy smile creeps up his face. Weirdo...

When I get to my seat, I see that someone is sitting in it. We normally all have assigned seats, so nobody should be there. But there he is.

"Excuse me," I call out to the light blue haired boy, placing my hand on the table in front of it. "This is my seat..." I see him shift slightly to meet my eyes.

When I do, his pale grey eyes look so familiar that I can't help staring. On his neck, I see that he has severe bruise marks all over it. I hold back a gasp. He looks like someone tried to...

Strangle him.

As soon as he lays eyes on me, his eyes widen unnaturally and his jaw drops. Suddenly, he evaporates into light brown smoke. After the smoke has cleared up, he's gone.

What!? Where did he go?!

I look around me. Everyone is acting normal, except for the fact that they're murmuring profusivily.

"What's gone into John...? He was talking to himself!" I hear a girl say.

I smile sheepishly and sit down in my chair, patting it's surface beforehand for any residue.

Did nobody see him? I must be seeing things again. I must've not gotten enough sleep, that's all. I'll just act normal.

"Hey...!" A friend next to me pats my table, seemingly ignoring the fact that I'm acting weird. "How have you been?" He asks.

"Good!" I smile kindly at him. I wish he would mind his own damn business.

"Yo yo people!" I hear a loud, sassy voice scream. Mrs. McNuggets is always trying to sound like the 'youngsters' as she likes to say. But in my opinion, she's trying to hard.

"Shut up and listen, ya simps! Class is starting!!"

She then dabs as she easily weels into the class on her wheelchair. Her large brown curls wiggle as she does so.

"Boo!" A boy suddenly jumps up. "That's sooo overrated!" He belows.

"Ya want to be expelled?" She says as she slightly lowers her glasses, looking at him through the gap and through her eyelashes.

The teenager instantly sits back down, whimpering.

"That's what I thought." She smiles triumphantly.

*******

Later that evening... At the house...

I contemplate the letter in my hands as I sit in my desk chair after taking a shower. It's from a good 'friend' named Kimberly. Who sends a letter these days? I rotate I and I see that it's outside appearance doesn't reveal much.

As I'm about to open the letter, I suddenly hear someone singing. My hands stop and I whip around to stare at my door. The singing sounds gentle and warm, but still... Creepy.

I stand up, letting the letter fall to the floor and my rolling chair spinning around in my wake. I feel as though I'm drawn to the sound as I walk to my door and open it. Who's singing?

When I arrive in the hallway, I notice that the sound is coming from Serenity's room. Is she listening to someone singing?

The door is slightly ajar, and I walk to it, abnormally really curious. It's like an invisible rope is pulling me there. Even though I know it's wrong, I peek through the opening. If someone saw me, they'd probably have the wrong idea, but I surprisingly don't care.

Once I see what's happening inside, my eyes grow wide.