I pushed my hair back out of my face, kicking a small pebble across the road. Here I am. Walking home, alone, again. I hate this part of the day. Now I have to kill 6 or 7 hours until Celia gets back. It's been about 12 minutes and I already miss her. I want to talk with her, hang out with her, and just look into her beautiful eyes, hear her adorable laugh, and hug her! ...I'm not obsessed with her, but I am. I'm not obsessed in a bad way! I'm obsessed with keeping her happy and safe. Don't call the police on me, okay? I'm not the jealous possessive type with her. If she had something she'd willingly leave me for, I would respect her decision and live the rest of my days in loneliness and utter despair and depression. I just really hope that day doesn't come anytime soon because that future does not sound ideal in the slightest bit. I know there will be the day where she will leave for college, and I am just praying that she takes me with her.

When I think about her leaving for college, I get scared. Sure, she's in highschool now but she's still a teenager. That's technically still considered a kid and kids do have imaginary friends. What if she thinks that when she reaches college she has to grow up? What if she wants to get rid of me because she doesn't want to be classified as a kid? What if she dumps me and I'm left alone for the rest of my life with no one else to see me and interact with me ever? She might say she needs to be mature and forget me, and she might have pressure from other people to forget me. That is, if they even know about me. I wish I could tell them that it's not like that, though. Celia didn't make me up in her head, I'm a real person, I was just born as an imaginary person. Can she forget me, even though I'll live in despair? I really flipping hope not.

I looked up at the stop sign, the street sign, the trees, everywhere. I needed to know where I was so that I could get home. If I kept getting lost in thought, I'd eventually get lost in this town and be forced to live with the wolves in the forest..for about 7 minutes and 37 seconds until they decide as a group to eat me. Nevertheless, that wouldn't happen because Celia would find me. I'd much rather be looking at Celia right now instead of all these buildings and streets. Did I mention how perfect and cute her hair is? It's really red and curly and bouncy and she looks so cute when she puts it in braids or up in a bun. She ends up looking like a little ballerina, even though she told me she hates dancing ballet. 

Oh my gosh, I sound so creepy right now. I hope Celia doesn't think I'm creepy. Crap, Jack. Stop thinking about Celia for just one second! Okay, not thinking about Celia. What should I think about? Cats. Cats are cool. They're little jerks who knock over your water. Celia always wanted a cat..NO! Stop! Okay, not cats. Think about..tables! Tables are nice and smooth and you can eat on them and have dinner parties with them. I remember the time I went with Celia and picked out a new drawing table with her. She's such an amazing artist that she needed a new table to draw on, her last one was pretty beat up. I remember looking around the store and suggesting a nice, sleek white table to her. She took my suggestion and ended up buying it, and it's still in her room to this day. I remember, to show that I helped her pick this out, I put a little cat sticker on the leg of the table that still stands to this day. Oh crap, I thought about her again! Also, how did the cat get back in the story?

Okay, one more time, try thinking about something that isn't Celia. Let's see, what to think about. What about..a man with a heavy, gray jacket on who is gesturing for me to come over to him. Nope, no chance of Celia coming in there. I'm just staring at a man with a small, dark beard, leaning up against the wall, and wanting me to come over to him. I didn't really know what to do. This could be one of those scary guys you see on the streets that act real nice to you, ask if they can come over, and then come to your house just to steal all your cereal. ...Yeah, I made up this story with Celia when I was younger. I was about to run away or stop, drop, and roll until something clicked in my mind. How was it possible for this man to wave me over to him? 

I'm imaginary, how can he see me? 

I cautiously backed away a little bit, until leaning forward just a second, pointing at myself to see whether or not he meant me. To my horror, he nodded. Okay, this guy can see me, and he wants me to come with him probably to bash me over the head and mug me. Two thoughts weighed in on my mind. They were "Oh my gosh, this guy can see me!" and "Oh my gosh, this guy is going to kill me!" I didn't know which instinct to follow, but I'd like to say that I'm a pretty brave man, so I went ahead and slowly and squeamishly walked over towards him. He pulled me into a corner of the street with him and I prayed to God that I didn't get murdered on this very street. I freed myself from his grip, and looked at him standing next to me. "What is it?" I whispered, my voice cracking. Not from fear, but from manliness. The man smirked at me. "You're imaginary.." 

Okay, he knows about me. Time to call the imaginary police. I gulped nervously and managed to somewhat nod at this man."Y-Yes..? How can you see me!?" I yelled, a little loudly. Hey, I was a bit scared! He angrily shushed me and looked around, as if someone would come after us. I looked around with him, hoping someone could come after us so I could break away from this freak. "I can see you, kid, because I'm imaginary too." He told me. My eyes widened. Another one of my kind. I had never met another imaginary person before. I almost couldn't believe it. I didn't even know what to do. Do I run away or hug this guy? Frankly, I don't want to do either. "Um..o-okay..what do you want?" I stuttered, feeling worried, yet trying to keep calm and cool.

He smiled at me. "I know what you feel and think. I know about that girl you like..Celia? She must like you too, considering she can see you. She's special, that one. She's real, yet she can see you. You two are best friends, right?" My eyes widened. This guy was for real. He knew things about me, and now about Celia. He's not a pretender, this guy is actually imaginary and he's actually one of my kind. Things were about to get more serious, especially when Celia's name was mentioned. I growled and  clenched my fists tightly. "How do you know Celia!?" I yelled. How does this loony old man know my best friend? More importantly..how does he know so much about us? "Never mind that, son. I know about you too, Jack." He knows my name. I'm going to call the imaginary police on this loon soon.

"Okay, this is creepy and so are you, so good day, sir." As I turned to run away, he quickly ran up to me and he grabbed the hood of my jacket and in that moment I thought I was going to die or crumble to dust. "No, stay!" He cried, his voice a little raspy. I turned around, making him release my hood from his cold hands. For some God-forsaken reason, I listened to this kook. "I can see the true desire of your heart. You like Celia, and she likes you, but she'd like you better if you were like her." He smiled, letting me see his whitish teeth. "If you were real." 

I actually stumbled backwards. "You have five seconds to tell me what the heck is going on here or I'm calling the cops." The old man looked down on me. "The cops that can't see you? With what phone can you call them with? When they get here, they'll see nobody, and they won't even hear your voice if you call them." I puffed out my chest, secretly about to cry. "F-Fine, okay, I won't call the cops. What do you want?" "I want to give you your wish. I want to make you real." My eyes widened. "Real? Real, how?" I asked, a bit interested in what this dude had to offer but also scared and doubtful. "Don't worry about that, just tell me - do you want to be real?" I thought about his question for a minute.

If I were real, I would be able to go to school with Celia, protect her against anyone that comes up against her, and I'd be able to make sure she's safe and happy while she's at school. I'd be able to let people know I was her best friend and they'd see me and label me as her best friend. They'd know how much I truly care about her and they'd know that we are best friends and I'm not just a figment of her imagination. Celia would like me better if I was real, and then even if she goes to college and wants to be more mature, she'd never be able to forget me! 

I finally answered him. "Yes, more than anything." I admitted. He smiled and reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a small, white pill. "Take this, and I swear to you, you will be real." His voice got a little raspy again. Suddenly, I understood what this guy was all about. How could I ever believe he had my best interest at heart? All this talk was just that - talk! He just wanted to make money by selling me something that could kill me. "Heck no, I'm clean and I'll never do drugs! Get away from me!" I screamed. The creepy drug-dealer then started to burst into laughter. "It's not a drug, you idiot!" He cried between laughter. Even if it wasn't a drug, I was still skeptical of him. He frowned, and I could tell he was a bit irritated with me. "If I am a drug-dealer, why am I imaginary, and why did I know so much about you and Celia?" He did make a good point..but I still don't think it was a good idea and I shouldn't take it. "Thank you for your offer, but no." I said, sternly.

He sighed. "Take it. You can throw it out if you want, just take it, okay? I have a feeling you're going to know what to do." He held it out for me to take, a smile on his face. I thought for a moment..but eventually I took it. He smiled and chuckled. "Good. Take it if you desire to be real and to live your dream." I turned away from him, taking a few steps forward. That's when my common sense kicked in. What was I doing? I have to return it.

"Sir, I can't take thi-" I turned around, but he was gone.

He had disappeared before me.