COMPLETED // i don't want to hurt anymore - enoch o'connor x reader

Chapter 2 - Peculiar

(Y/N)'s P.O.V

"And who might you be?" The stern woman dressed all in black with a pipe hanging out of her mouth asked me.
"I'm - I'm (Y/N)." The woman smiled and stuck out her hand. "Miss Alma Peregrine, Headmistress of the Home for Peculiar Children in Cairnholm. It's lovely to make your acquaintance." The boy with insects coming out of his mouth had looked like he wanted to interrupt the whole way through this short conversation, and he took the chance now. "Headmistress... She - (Y/N) was chased in by a hollow! It came into the loop!" Miss Peregrine's face turned from pleasantly happy, to stormy. "Mr Apiston, that's impossible, and you very well know it. Come, (Y/N), let's go into my office and have a little chat, away from prying ears." 'Mr Apiston' opened his mouth as if to interrupt again, but thought better of it, and let the Headmistress take me away into a small office.

"So, Miss..."
"(Y/L/N)... Headmistress."
"Thank you, Miss (Y/L/N). So, I'm sure you're wondering what on earth is happening - " she started to say, but I needed to get something out of the way first. "Mr Apiston... That boy wasn't joking. That thing did follow me right in here. Honestly, if you check outside, you'll see - " Miss Peregrine held up a finger for silence. "Ah. We have a few rules in this house, and one of them is to never interrupt the Headmistress, who just happens to be me. I'm happy to hear your story and questions after, and only after, I have explained everything. Does that sound quite alright to you?"
I blushed fiercely, nodding.
"Well, then, I shall begin.
"The children you will meet here are different to most. Their kind are often described as peculiar, and that name has stuck. They are now 'peculiars', part of a wide community of people like them. They all have a kind of power, a peculiarity, that sets them apart. And this peculiarity is a gift, usually, but not always. The thing you say you were chased by is called a hollowgast, sometimes known as a hollow. These hollows feed on peculiar people, in an attempt to make themselves into a humanlike form, called a wight. Now, Miss (Y/L/N), I have a question for you, which you may answer within the best of your ability. What did the hollow that was chasing you look like?" My eyes widened with the terrible memory.
"Well, it was very tall, and it had extremely long limbs. It had - it had black, slimy tentacles, kind of like tongues, that grabbed and snaked and... Yeah." Miss Peregrine looked at me curiously. "The funny thing about that is not the description; in fact, your remembrance of the hollowgast is exactly the same as any other record. However, the odd thing is that hollows are invisible to most eyes. In fact, you may be the only living person to be able to see this type of monster in it's entirety." The Headmistress paused to let that sink in. I leaned back in my chair, unbelievably confused and shocked. Only an hour ago, I had been watching YouTube with my little brother, and now here I was, in some old house with 'peculiar' children, my life having been threatened by a 'hollow'. What was going on?
Miss Peregrine cleared her throat and continued. "Anyway, as I was saying, you can see them. And that might just be your peculiarity! And, before you ask - " She had seen me open my mouth to speak, " - I know that you are peculiar because only peculiars can enter loops." She paused again for breath, and I took my chance.
"Um, sorry, but... What's a loop?" Miss Peregrine narrowed her eyes at me. "I was certain I had told you not to ask questions until the end, (Y/N). No matter, though, I will answer your question. A loop is a particular place in the world where peculiar children are looked after for protection from hollows. You may have seen a weather change when you entered our loop, and it probably felt like a different time of the day. That's because it is. The children here live one day over and over again, this day being September 3rd, 1940. Therefore, they never look like they've aged, but if they step outside the loop into the present day, they will age extremely quickly... And die." 1940?, I thought to myself. I was in 2017 an hour ago. And all that stuff about them aging and dying sounded rather ominous. The Headmistress continued. "This measure is used to prevent hollows coming in and using the children, because, as well as the fact that no normal person can enter a loop, neither can a hollowgast. So... I think that sums everything up for now. Do you have any questions?" I was practically bursting with questions. How does it all work? What's my peculiarity? What do hollows do to the children? Why am I peculiar? How do you keep the loop continuing? However, I decided to go with a sane and well-balanced question.
"So if what you said is a true, how did that hollow get into your loop?" Miss Peregrine looked down. "I'm going to be very honest with you here, Miss (Y/L/N). I don't know. And I don't like not knowing things because then I am putting my wards in danger, but I really have no inkling of how that hollow got through into our loop." There was silence as I thought that through, and then I said. "Am I peculiar?"
"Yes, of course, otherwise how would you have - ah, I see your point. Well, I believe so. Again, I don't know why or how I know, I just have a feeling. Anyway, I suppose you'd like to see the house, wouldn't you?" I smiled, nodding. "Yes, please. Um, do you think there's any chance that I would be able to go home for tonight? I mean, my family will be worried about me..." The Headmistress looked at me sadly.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible, at least for a long time. You're not safe out there, with the hollows chasing you. You're going to have to live here, (Y/N)." I felt numb. So I was destined to become like the peculiar children, stuck in this place forever? Sure, it seemed like a nice place, but I wanted a life. I wanted to grow up, get married, have kids, get a job. I didn't think I'd want to stay here... But I also didn't want to be killed by hollows or wights. I decided, after a moment of deliberation, to stay for a while, and see if I liked it. Therefore, I wouldn't be putting myself in danger of aging at a high speed when or if I came out again, but I still got to see what living with peculiars was like.
I expressed my thoughts and wishes to Miss Peregrine, and she nodded and agreed, before calling the stocky girl I'd met before to give me a tour. "Miss Bruntley here will show you the house, and I hope will be able to answer any questions that you have about living here."
Miss Bruntley smiled and looped her arm through mine. "I'm Bronwyn. Nice to meet you, (Y/N)."