The Boy with the Bubbles

Prologue

Welcome..to a world far from your own...my little star

Aster violently woke up in the middle of the night

4 am...great

it was 3 hours before they were supposed to be up, but recently they couldn't seem to catch the counting sheep to sleepy town, instead they kept falling behind and waking up. High school hasn't been very easy on them, the work, friends and even their own mind have been hard on them, but Aster stays optimistic.

*sigh*

They get up and put on their headphones, preparing for the day ahead. 

*boy in the Bubble by Alec Benjamin plays*

The sun creeps up into the bathroom as Aster looks at themself in the mirror, the person they saw wasn't recognizable at all to them, the long hair and the way the uniform fit onto their body, it all seemed so...unfitting

" shake it off Aster...*shiver* just shake it off"

A warm breakfast consisting of hot chocolate and muffins awaited Aster, made by their father.

"good morning hunny" a statement sealed with a hug

" morning dad" 

Even though Aster skateboards to school, that doesn't stop their dad from spending time with them before leaving. Aster always loved this part of the day, apart from sleeping like a log as soon as they entered their room, but today Aster just felt so odd that their dad's hugs seemed so cold that day. Again, they shake it off and put a smile on their face, tote bag on their shoulder and leave for the door. The sound of the wheels of the skateboard hitting the road alongside the bumpyness that came along with it calmed Aster's rushing mind a bit. it was somewhat sunny but cold this morning, the leaves slowly fell and turned orange as the season was changing. Aster vibed to their favourite Spotify playlist as they grooved with the wind and the board, doing tricks and overall, just having fun. Nothing beats a fun skate session before the hell that was an average high school day

till the fun was interrupted.

*scream....thud*

Something caused Aster's skateboard to flip over, throwing them into the pile of soft, wet leaves ahead.

what the heck is that?

Something caught their eye, an oddly shiny bottle of bubbles. Aster used to use those a lot as a little girl, but was sure that they were discontinued 4 years ago...so how did a full bottle of it sit right in front of them? they slowly crawled towards it and picked it up, it was brand new, like it had just been  manufactured recently

Maybe they made new models? odd

*RINGGG*

Their thinking was cut short again when the sound of their school bell chiming filled their ears. Oh no! They're gonna be late..again. they put the shiny bottle into their pocket, hopped back onto their board and rode as fast as they physically could. The gates closed right after Aster, as they rode into the main corridors and stopped at their homeroom classroom.

well, that's...convenient

The day flows by, class to class, book to book, Aster powered through it all! The sudden change of energy alarmed them but they took the opportunity to get all the study work out the way. Today was...peacefully, like oddly nostalgic. the world remained with the sunrise tint from this morning, making their world seem like a dream

a childhood dream

the sound of learners being dismissed made Aster run immediately out the gates and into their nearby cafe. They ordered their favourite coffee and sat by the window, pulling out the bottle of bubbles.

Now just what am I going to do with you?

Aster couldn't help but smile at the bottle, all their wonderful childhood memories were brought back into their mind thanks to it. the simplicity that was being a kid, blowing colourful bubbles and running around in them. Aster couldn't help but  tear up a bit remembering it all, that feeling they had back then they could feel now

and it was so refreshing.

So they rode off, just enjoying the orange tint that never seemed to go away from the world, this time stopping to blow a few bubbles. The bubbles were...oddly large, they combined with each other to create, one, big bubble.

" wait..how is this possible"

before Aster could think any further, the bubble finally popped, but directly into their eyes. The soap stun badly, causing them to fall to the ground and rubbing it only made it worse

but suddenly, the soap's stun started to fade, but when Aster opened their eyes once more, all they could view was colourful ash, they didn't see anything else

"hello? someone?"

Aster panicked as the colour started to fade as well, causing them to spin and fall into the ground. 

" wake up"

A warm presence touched Aster's shoulder and shook them. This person sounded so familiar. Aster finally opened their eyes

to a whole new world

one without tar roads, modern buildings and everything that made up a normal suburban city. This looked like something straight out of a children's book. their phone had turned into a hard, leather book with weird symbols and their headset, thankfully remained the same.

"oh wonderful, you're alive" a figure smiles at Aster. a gentleman with baggy clothing similar to one of a fairie with a large sword sighed and smiled. Aster's heartbeat increased as the realisation hit harder than a bus, this person who stood right before them 

sounded

looked

and smiled 

just 

like them!

" WAIT WHERE THE HECK AM I-