LOST BOY - vance hopper x reader

2: the talisman

You pass out on your bed and by the time you wake up it all feels like a nasty fever dream. If not for the dirt on your shoes and the scribbles in your notebook, you'd think that it was. Every time you caught movement in your peripheral vision or saw a shadow across the room you feared you might once again be face to face with his mangled, blood-covered visage.

But as the day went on, you started to doubt yourself. You couldn't tell anyone, of course, they'd think you were crazy. Your parents were disappointed that you missed another day of school and now that you've had a whole day to rest, they told you that you absolutely can't miss school tomorrow.

Maybe you dreamt it all. Maybe you were so tired that you fell asleep in class and had a bad dream, and your outburst upon waking was why you were kicked out.

It seems silly that you could remember the boy so vividly and yet you were doubting yourself. It was your mind's desperate attempt to reconcile what it knew (ghosts weren't real, of course they weren't) with what you just saw, and by the end of the day you were sure the whole thing was just some elaborate fabrication brought on by fatigue.

In just one day the boy had gone from a very real threat to a passive fear, like when you watch a really scary movie and you know it's not real but you can't help but wonder if something's lurking in the dark anyway. The first night is always the worst. Then, once you make it through safe and sound, the second is a little better. Soon you'll wonder why you were ever scared at all. It'll be the same here, only you'll have to make it through the night as well as that first school day. You only made a fool of yourself in one class, at least. Maybe after History was over you'd find some real friends in one of your other classes.

You just need something to help you get through the day. Maybe it was a book you read or a movie you watched or someone's online video, but you remember hearing that objects of personal significance could ward monsters and malicious spirits away if you held them close and focused on them.

That's what you needed, then. Your special charm. A talisman.

It had to be something you could bring to school without looking weird for it, so no stuffed animals. A keychain could work, but it'd be better to have something you could wear instead of stuffing it in your pocket. You rifle through your jewelry and pull out an old favorite necklace: one that you haven't worn in a while, but was special to you.

You slip it over your head and feel its weight against your sternum, small but noticeably there. If you were frightened, you'd focus on it, close your eyes, and get back to reality.

Sure, the whole concept seemed far-fetched, but there were only two possibilities here: one, ghosts aren't real and you're just imagining things, in which case the necklace would harmlessly help you get through the day. Or two, ghosts were real and if that's the case then magical wards may as well be real, too.

It's not like you knew of any other way to get rid of him.

As you lay in your bed, you focus on the necklace rising and falling in time with your chest with every breath you take and shut out all other thoughts. With that, you manage to lull yourself into a somewhat peaceful sleep, and in this less anxious state of mind you think about that boy again.

All this time you've been frightened of him, but now you feel a bit sad for him, too. If he was real then he was your age when he died, and by the look of him he didn't go peacefully, either.

That's your last thought before you fall asleep for the night, and your sleep is mercifully deep and dreamless.

-

The next morning, you wake up promptly when your alarm clock goes off. You even set it fifteen minutes earlier than you had to, just to be absolutely sure that you'd get to school on time even if you hit snooze, but to your surprise you're wide awake and ready to go.