8-28-14 A/N: I do not own the song. It's called The Monster and it's by Eminem.


"I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed

Get along with the voices inside of my head

You're trying to save me, stop holding your breath

And you think I'm crazy, yeah, you think I'm crazy..."

The music was suddenly blocked out by excited shouting and loud footsteps, and a door was opened before being slammed shut. Willow knew at once that her family had come back from the pet store.

Even though she was a floor between them and her room, Willow could hear her family very clearly due to a combination of good hearing and noise level. She jumped off her bed, put her mp3 player away, and uncharacteristically hurried downstairs. Today was the day the cat her parents had planned on getting for about week was brought home, and even Willow was excited to see it.

The family was in the living room now, and she had gotten there just in time to see her mom pull the new kitten out of the cat carrier. She walked into the room quietly as her family "ooh"ed and "aww"ed over the tiny black cat. Willow leaned against the wall and waited for her family to stop smothering the poor creƤture.

"Ok, ok. Back off guys, give it some room." her dad said, trying to take charge. Willow's nose twitched when she heard his voice.

"You mean her." Xia, Willow's sister, pointed out.

"No! It's a boy." Willow's brother, Archie, shouted. He complained about a lot of things, and Willow again wished her parent's would let her teach him not to be so spoiled. It wasn't because she wanted to hurt him though; it was because she didn't like their parenting styles. Either her dad would yell and talk about their flaws, or her mom would explain to them things they already knew and expect them to follow it. It was one of they few things Willow felt strongly about, she realized, but she could never get her parents to understand this, and they didn't change. Willow suddenly noticed how depressed her thoughts were making her and found it annoying.

"She's a girl." Their mom said.

Willow waited patiently as her brother pouted and Xia hugged the kitten, but with a lingering feeling of annoyance. Willow didn't care what gender the cat was, and she didn't say anything when her mom asked what the kitten's name would be. After a bit of debating they decided her name would be Stormy. Willow almost laughed at how ridiculous she thought the name sounded, but she figured it wasn't any worse than the names "Xia", "Willow", or "Archibold". Their parents had a talent for finding unique names. Unfortunately, that sometimes meant it would be harder to make friends. Willow was grateful for that because it meant that the friends she did find were usually loyal to her, which was the trait she valued most in people, but her sister was different. That's why Willow considered her parent's talent unfortunate.

Willow was brought back from her thoughts when she noticed Stormy looking at her, now from Archie's shoulder. The cat had a set of very pale green eyes, and the way she looked at Willow made her uncomfortable. Willow stared back for a few seconds, until she got bored and decided to go outside again. She found the cat a bit strange, but eventually convinced herself she was imagining things. She was feeling rather tired anyway.


I got back from my walk around 7 p.m. My parents were worried about me, naturally, but they were at least fairly aware of what I was capable of. They told me they had gotten the new kitten earlier today and named her Stormy. I knew that of course, but didn't tell them. Whether they knew I had been there or not didn't matter to me any more, though their lack of awareness still surprised me. My mom walked through the kitchen, picked up her purse and car keys, and headed out the door after telling me she had been called to work earlier. I ate leftovers because my family always eats dinner about an hour earlier, then went upstairs and brushed my teeth. It may have been early, and from what I've heard most kids my age stay up later, but you know that saying "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."? I almost live by it. It makes the days seem longer. After I finish brushing my teeth, I take a shower. By then it's almost eight, so I go to my room and read before going to sleep.

I had a nightmare that night, and that means a lot considering I said it. My dreams are always strange, and I remember them in great detail because they're so vivid, but they haven't really scared me in a long time. My dream self doesn't freak out anymore, so it was actually rather refreshing to be having a nightmare after so long. I had forgotten how they felt.

I dreamt I was walking through my neighbourhood, like I usually do, but something seemed off about it. It was night, but there weren't any of the usual groups: no one on their way to a night club like I sometimes see from my window, no gangs, no troublemakers. I walked into one of the alleys that had a dead-end. There were boxes stacked at the end of it, but that was all. Then I saw a kitten crawl out of one of the bottom ones. I didn't recognize her in my dream, but I knew after I woke up it had been stormy. The cat meowed and a few other kittens crawled out of the box. They were newborns. I set the small bag of cat food I was carrying down in front of them, and they attacked it viciously. This disturbed me, so I ran home as fast as I could. In real life however, I would not have felt that fear. The closer I got though the more I felt there was something wrong. I ran up to the porch of my house, but stopped when my hand touched the doorknob. I knew something bad would happen if I went inside, but I felt like I had to. There was something I needed in the house. I woke up just as I was about to open the door.

Opening my eyes, I saw my ceiling dimly illuminated by the moonlight coming in through my window. I no longer felt the same amount of fear I had in my dream, but I was still scared. The clock on my nightstand read 12:34, so I tried to go back to sleep. Failing at that, I looked back at the clock. About 20 minutes had passed. I got up and went downstairs to get a glass of water.

I was halfway down the hall when I heard something scratching at the bathroom door. I froze for a second before remembering my parents had decided to put Stormy in the bathroom for the night. I remember feeling sorry for her. I wouldn't like being stuck in a room all night either, so I figured the least I could do was make sure she had water. I opened the bathroom door and Stormy immediately tried to escape. I picked her up, walked into the bathroom, and closed the door behind me to keep her in.

"Sorry fur ball, but you'd get lost in our house." I said even though I knew she couldn't understand me. She meowed as I picked up her empty water dish and walked over to the sink to fill it up. Suddenly I felt very dizzy. I grabbed the edge of the sink to steady myself, but then my vision went out. I tried looking up, and when I did I realized I could see. It was just that the floor was gone, and I was falling. Then I really did black out.