Fragments Chapter One
Summery: It all began in the woods, when a blurry fragment of my imagination would appear. I would normally ignore it, telling myself it was a trick of the light, but not today. Today was different. AU. DxS
Disclaimer: Butch Hartman is a boy. I'm fairly sure I'm a girl. *Checks* Yep, I'm a girl.
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It all began in the woods, where the sun would stream through the bright green leaves and contrasting with the warm shade that the old thick branches provided. I would be walking along a twisted path with no real markings to help me if I was lost, and I would sometimes see a blurry image in the corner of my eye.
"A fragment of my imagination," I would tell myself often. "Like the monster in your closet or the thing that stares at you when you get soap in your eyes."
But as time passed however, the strange fragment of my rather vivid imagination evolved. The blurry image appeared more often, always disappearing when I looked head on, and leaving me to stare at the almost gothic depths of the forest that I loved so much. Everything would go silent, as if it went mute. The gentle forest breeze that flowed through the woods like a stream would stop. Even the leaves that rustled in the slightest amount wind would freeze, leaving me to hear my own footsteps thud on the twisting trail.
On any other day I would have ignored it. But not today though.
This day was different.
Maybe it was the way how the strange silence rang in my ears on the hot summer day, or the way how I saw the fragment look more human-like than ever before, but this was they day I called out. "Who are you?" I asked, feeling quite foolish, as no sane person would call out to nothing in the middle of a forest.
The fragment obviously didn't answer, but I could almost swear it was pointing at something off of the trail that I normally took. Or maybe it was just my imagination.
I turned to the figure dead on, and nothing was there. Not a leaf rustled, not a depression in the soft ground from the midsummer storm the night before, not a blade of grass bent. If I didn't see that shadow there a moment before, I wouldn't even have glanced its way.
Glancing to where it was pointing, the same fate awaited me. Not a thing out of normal in sight, not even a flaw in the bark on the smooth birch trees. So why did I feel like I should notice this? That this was important to me?
The fragment seemed to nod in the corner of my mind, and he, for I decided it was he as it had a mound of fluffy hair, dissolved into nothing, leaving me to wonder if he was only a fragment of my over reactive imagination. After all, I've been walking in this forest for years now, always following the same rather thin path that slithered like a snake around the white birch trees, why should today be anything different?
I gently set one of my black converse off of the soft path, and onto the leaf-strung ground. It was slightly more soft, as it hadn't had me walking on it for years to harden it.
I walked on, not really caring when my shoes stuck to the mud and left deep footprints behind me, admiring the simple beauty of the late afternoon sun streaming through the leaves. If I could concentrate, I could just see the fragment to the left of me, almost running to keep up with my long strides.
"It's just part of my imagination, or a shadow of a tree." I reassured myself as I stepped on a stick and broke it.
But the fragment didn't even feel dangerous. He had a calming reassurance in his presence, almost like I could trust him. He was about my hight, that much I could tell, and I could feel his gaze when I stopped, urging me to go on. He didn't sound like those ghosts that you hear in stories, that would lure a victim into a dark cave and murder them, leaving only the heart for the police to find. He felt... Safe.
So when the fragment appeared in front of me, I balked, before falling down on my knees and staring. I didn't expect a fragment that must be a part of my vivid imagination to actually appear!
He was almost like a ghost, for I was correct in assuming he was a he. He was like a picture out of a child's coloring book, if a child had colored in everything in shades of gray. He wasn't faceless, like slenderman, but had a rather small nose and a thin face. He still had tiny rolls of baby fat, which contrasted with his skinny build. He had a mop of dark hair that fell into his eyes. Oh dear god, his eyes. They were a beautiful sky blue, swirling and glittering. They were striking, standing out from his gray coloring.
I gapped at the shade. Ghosts don't exist! I was merely following my instincts to satisfy my overreactive subconscious, not really believing that I was taking orders from a ghost, but yet, here one was!
"Hello?" I asked it nervously. "Are you.. Real?" I dreaded it answering, which would prove that I was either insane, or ghosts were real, neither of which I wanted.
The fragment stared at me with those beautiful eyes for a moment before reply. "I believe so," he rasped, as if he had not used his voice in a long while.
Oh dear god. He was real. Or I was insane, but I was fairly positive that I was completely sane, unfortunately.
His face was innocent, almost hopeful. I noticed that he was floating a few inches above the ground, as of he didn't want to get his feet dirty.
"Why do you believe so? Do you think that you are not real?" I asked, quite curious. It's not everyday you get to talk to a ghost, after all.
He thought about it for a moment, those transparent gray eyebrows wrinkling in thought. "Because not everyone can see me."
That makes sense. If I was invisible to everyone, I wouldn't think I was real either. "What's your name?"
He looked rather taken aback. Those sparkling blue eyes widened in curiosity, confusion and was that... Fear?
"I don't really know." He replied honestly. Those beautiful eyes were cast downward in shame.
"Hey, it's okay," I said, trying to comfort him. "We can give you one."
His eyebrows shot up in excitement. "Really?" He asked, as if I offered to give him an adorable puppy.
I laughed. "Of course!"
He smiled, a grateful grin that seemed to make the sunlit woods light up a bit more. I thought it was quite strange how I could be laughing with a ghost in the middle,of the forest, as if we were old friends. But the strangeness in it went away as I listed off names for the Fragment to pick.
Yes, Fragment. He seemed to real to be called a ghost, whenever he was dead or not. Ghosts are malevolent creatures, and this Fragment wasn't mean or even rude.
"Hmm.. How about John?" I said absent-mildly.
He shook his head, his hair falling into his eyes. "That one sounds too boring."
"Jack? Alex? David?"
"Nope. Those don't sound like me." He replied, sounding unsure of himself
"Well, what is you? What do you like?" I pestered, still going through names in my mind, but still interested in what he had to say. Was he dead? Did he remember being alive? Or was his memory completely gone, like a shooting star? One minute there, next one gone.
"I don't really remember. But I like how the sun would change the sky colors, and how at night you can see millions of stars. I hate the rain, the way how the water drops on my head is annoying." He shook his head in annoyance, his bangs falling in his eyes.
"Hmm.. Daniel?" I finally came up with.
"Maybe. But how about Danny instead? Daniel sounds too formal." The Fragment replied.
"Danny. I like it," I said, testing out the word. "It suits you."
He grinned. "My name is Danny!" He cried out into the thicket, silencing the birds mid-note.
I laughed, and the bubbling noise echoed throughout the woods. I glanced down at my watch, and froze. Seven thirty?! I was supposed to be back fifteen minutes ago!
I turned towards Danny, who was still happily repeating his new name. "Danny, Danny, Danny-"
"Danny? I have to go." I told the fragment, and felt a pang of guilt when I saw the disappointed expression on his face. "But I'll come back tomorrow!" I quickly added, and felt better when Danny looked instantly uplifted at the thought.
"You promise?"
"Yes, I promise."
"Good." He nodded. "But wait! I don't even know your name!" He called as I turned around to run back quickly. His blue eyes were full of curiosity, almost as if he was guessing what name could belong to a girl who sees ghosts.
"Oh, it's Sam. Good bye, Danny!" I called, waving my hand.
I saw him grin out of the corner of my eye. "Good bye, Sam!"
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YAYAYAY FIRST CHAPTER! *Fistpumps*
Music I'm listening to: "Circus for a Psycho" by Skillet. I LOVE ME SOME SKILLET. I'm like dancing around my room to this song. DANCE WITH ME, EVERYONE! XD I'm so weird.
Oh, and my friend, Miggaliea, put this up on DEVINTart for me! His name is I'm-stuck-in-a-well, and he also made the cover art for this story a well! THANK YOU MIGGALIEA! I'll put a link up on my bio later if you want to check out some more art for this story. Or if you want to read the first chapter on DA.
I'm rather proud of this story, if I do say so myself. I spent forever on it, agonizing over every word, seeing if it fit. I even had my English teacher look over this! (Thanks again, Mrs. S!) GAH. But I it was worth it!
(I never know what to say on these things. Hi, this is my brain. Purple monkey dishwasher. I have red hair.)
Have a great week everyone!
And don't forget to review!
-FallingNarwhals