The next morning came quickly, Mother woke me and up and told me to get dressed for breakfast. It was a traditional Sunday morning breakfast before we went to church.
"Mother, Father, I made a new friend last night! He was really cool; we played chess together." I happily ate my waffles and told my parents all about Sebastian.
My father spoke, "Oh that's nice Ciel. Your imaginary friend sounds cute."
I frowned at my father, "He's not imaginary."
My mother tossed at look at my father, "Of course he's real sweetie."
We all ate the rest of silence in breakfast before loading up and going to church. My day was normal and passed slowly since I couldn't seem to wait until night. I knew the chances of seeing Sebastian again were low but I hoped he would show up regardless.
As my parents did their nightly rounds in my room I requested that the leave my closet door open. They complied and kissed my forehead goodnight and left. I laid in bed for a while staring at the ceiling hoping to feel the same presence I had felt the last few days but even after an hour there was nothing. Eventually I fell asleep exhausted from the day and waiting up for Sebastian.
The following few nights went the same. I left my closet door open every night and tried to stay up as long as possible waiting before I finally fell asleep exhausted.
I finally gave up. I left my door open but I didn't stay up anymore. If he was going to show up it probably wouldn't be for some time and that's if he ever even decided to come back.
"Ciel," I felt someone shaking my shoulder but I just burrowed deeper into my covers and tried to sleep some more, "Ciel. Wake up."
I sat up and rubbed my eyes trying to dust the sleep from them, "Huh? What's going on?"
"It's me, Sebastian. You said you wanted to play again but you weren't awake when I got here…" He trailed off looking kind of nervous.
"Sebastian?" I felt more awake now that I had heard his voice but I still wasn't sure is I was dreaming or not.
He nodded and stood there awkwardly not quite sure of himself.
"You're really here!" I threw my arms around him and smiled brightly. "I thought you weren't coming back because you didn't come back the last few days.
His face fell into a small frown, "I forgot about the time difference. Where I come from time moves slower than here. I'm sorry."
"It's okay. Now that I know it won't be so bad." I scooted over and patted the bed beside me signaling for him to climb up and lay beside me.
He climbed up and lay down hesitantly. He laid on his right side and I laid on my left with our faces close together as we talked through the night. At one point I slipped back under the covers which resulted in my accidently pushing him off the bed. It was funny to see a demon sprawled on the floor rubbing his butt. I laughed at him but helped him climb back onto the bed and apologized.
We talked about our favorite games and the things that our worlds shared in common.
His world was filled with darkness and mine was filled with light which probably explained why we were so draw to each other. We were the balances to each other's world and that was what drew us together in the beginning.
The next few years together went like this, he showed up every week and we exchanged stories of our time apart. We even snuck down to the kitchen and I introduced him to sweets. He wasn't as fond of them as I was but he said they were decent enough. We shared our favorite games together and once we even snuck out onto the balcony attached to the study so Sebastian could see the world outside my house.
One conversation made me a bit scared of him but honestly I resulted in me being more upset than anything, "Hey Sebastian, What kinds of food do you like?"
He rubbed the back of his neck in what I had learned was a nervous habit for him, "I don't like food. I don't need sleep or food like you do. I feed off fear." He voice tapered off at the end like he was ashamed of himself.
"Then that's why you came to my room? To feed off my fears?"
He nodded and picked at the cake that sat in front of him.
I giggled to cover up my moment of fear and reached over to flick his nose lightly, "don't look so sad, we both eat different stuff its nothing to be ashamed off."
"I know but there's something else I haven't told you yet…"
I took a bite of my cake and waited for him to continue, "I can't stay once you turn 12. Demons can't feed off people's fears once the turn 12. It's another rule."
"Oh." I had nothing to say that could convey the deep pang of sadness in my chest.
"We don't have to worry about that for another 2 years though!" He smiled grabbed his plate and cleaned up his mess from tonight. We washed our dishes and picked up all the games we had laid out for the night before he said goodbye and went on his way. I climbed back into my bed and fell asleep quickly though the thoughts of my conscious didn't leave even as I fell deep into my subconscious.
On the night before my 12th birthday he visited one last time. He didn't stay long but we talked like normal and made the most of our last moments together. Neither of us were ready to admit that we wouldn't see each other again so we didn't say anymore goodbyes than the usual parting words. He left that night looking that saddest I had ever seen. I hid my emotions until he was gone, and then I buried myself under my covers and forced my eyes shut hoping that this was all a bad dream. I hoped that tomorrow when I woke up he would appear and hop on my bed demanding another round of chess.
I lost my best friend that night but I kept it all bottled up inside. I doubted anyone would believe me if I said my best friend who was a demon, the very thing meant to scare children, was now gone. I went about my days normally and after a few months the memories of him got buried deep within my mind.
