Stars In Your Eyes
Prologue
Warnings: Attempted sexual abuse (not graphic). Also this story will be SLASH, you are warned. Updates irregularly (for now).
Disclaimer: Anything you recognize, I do not own it.
When Jim was very young, they had an old neighbor named Mrs. Robinson. He couldn't recall her face, just unimportant and irrelevant details about her: the way she smelled of a sickeningly sweet perfume and of dental floss, the dull shine of her fake pearl earrings which couldn't reflect the light of the TV properly, the very same TV that only showed one channel - a channel which broadcasted old movies and documentaries from the 21st century.
Occasionally, when her mother had to go to the grocery or when she and his stepfather needed some 'alone time', they dropped him off to Mrs. Robinson's house for a few hours.
He could remember hating it.
He could remember hating being stuck in there, when her mother was probably getting banged into the mattress in the bedroom or maybe they were in the kitchen, really. Or the bathroom, the garden and -heaven forbid- Jim's own room. It wasn't like it hadn't happened before.
That day was one of those days, in which Mrs. Robinson handed him a slice of chocolate cake - that was the only thing she was good at, feeding him - and they sat in front of her TV, watching the same old channel.
"What, exactly, is magic? Is it only an illusion that can fool humanity into believing it is real?"
Jim tentatively put the empty plate on the small coffee table in front of him, eyes never leaving the old TV."What if you had real magic, magic that comes from the center of your soul? Magic that could accomplish greater things than an illusion? Magic that could change your life?"
The entire time the man spoke, his back was turned to him. He stood among the shadows and it was impossible to observe his features, except the hat - the long hat which had so many distinctive features that it was obviously a magician's - no, a wizard's.
"I would make myself rich or, dunno, revive my dad I guess?" Jim heard himself mutter sarcastically.
The man turned to him, and Jim forgot how to breathe. From the shadows, a pair of emerald eyes stared at him: intense, scary, unimpressed and -shit- so utterly unamused.
"You sure about that, Jimmy?" Jim jerked awake.
The TV was still on, but no emerald eyes were on sight.
Illusion magic was a forgotten art. Rarely people knew what illusion magic was, let alone do it. Not with the superior seeing, hearing and whatever mumbo jumbo aliens possessed that was more superior to a human's senses. Real magic though - magic of the unreal kind, as it has been assumed by many - it had been an extinct art long before the modern times.
This was what little Jimmy thought about magic - he was incredibly realistic for his age and he prided himself for it.
That is, until, one day.
The light of the TV was reflected on the many beer cans scattered around, and they shined with every movement coming from the old TV. There was a boxing match on - the loud cheers and taunts irritated his ears.
"Boy!" Came the voice of his stepfather, from the sofa he was sprawled on. "Get your scrawny ass over here!"
"What do you want?"
Stan's beady eyes were looking at him with a strange glint. He had a nasty smirk on his mouth - Jim felt a shiver run down his spine.
"You see, Jimmy, I've been getting really bored lately..." The couch gave a squeky noise as Stan lifted himself up from it. "And I've been thinking-" Jimmy didn't know he could do that. "-why don't we entertain ourselves while your mommy is away?"
Jim winced as his stepfather grabbed him from his shoulders, and showed him to the couch.
A deep self-loathing filled him as this nasty, disgusting creature's hands roamed all over his body and he was too fucking weak, too fucking scared to stop it.
He felt something rise from his chest - a deep sense of desperation, an unfathomable need for escape - and all senses were lost to him at that moment. He felt it grow and grow and grow in his chest, until there was no more space to cage this thing and it broke loose from it's restrains with a massive explosion.
Through the blurry veil of his vision, he could see Stan's plump figure being thrown across the wall with great force and the hands - the dirty, rough hands - dissapeard from his body.
It was the first bolt of magic he had done.
When Jim was finally twelve years old - a big boy that he was, big enough to protect his mother, even - his mother took him to stargazing for the first time. Throughout their journey, she had a nostalgic look on her face and Jim was immediatly reminded of his father. He saw his father - who was a hero in his eyes, who was forever lost to the stars - and he saw his joy, his smile, his passion reflected upon those twinkling lights.
When they reached the cove to stargaze, someone was already there, soaking his feet in the star-filled ocean. Jim watched as the tiny waves distorted the billion shiny lights reflected upon the silky surface. The man turned his head just for a millisecond, and Jim saw the universe reflected upon the emerald depths of his eyes.
Jim walked up to the man, and a sudden sense of familiarity and belonging filled him.
The man with the brilliant eyes gave him a secretive smile, the tips of his lips curling upwards just barely. He raised his hand to the sky, as if to grab something, and closed his hand around something shiny. He offered it to Jim and Jim, who was mesmerised by the man's actions, took it from his milky hands.
"Whenever you need me, Jim." He murmured. And when he looked up from his trembling little hands, the man with the stars in his eyes had already left.
Later, when his mother was done setting up the telescope, he stared at his hand - at the star in his little hands, at the twinkling object between his fingers.
Whenever I need. He thought, unconciously clenching his new treasure.
A/N:
'Lo guys,
I am open to all constructive criticism. Also, your opinions are very important to me, so please spare a moment to review.
As a side note, I am looking for a beta reader as I am not a native speaker. If you are interested, please PM me.
Love y'all,
Xohaxu.