Here is the next chapter! Yeah!

Also, since someone did ask, this is going to be Arthur/Eames eventually... This chapter will explain more about Eames and exactly who can see him and all that good stuff. But more will be revealed about him later on (and I hope everyone likes what I have planned about him).

Arthur is supposed to be 17 and a senior in high school. Eames is supposed to be roughly the same age, maybe a few years older than Arthur. I know I used man and all that but it felt weird saying boy or guy, but yeah, he is supposed to be a bit older. But really, Eames' age isn't a real factor here.

And another note. I said that this story would be like six chapters plus an epilogue, but I may end up expanding it some to add more detail and all that. So we will see where this takes us.

I hope you all enjoy and again, I do not own anything.


Chapter 2

Arthur woke up early the next morning. He guessed it was habit now, with school and all that. The first thing he did was look around the room and make sure the guy was not there. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that he was, in fact, still alone in his room.

He then realized that is today was Saturday. No school. Good. He would get the whole weekend to lick his wounds so he would be able to be strong and go to school on Monday and act like nothing had happened.

He pulled himself from his bed and made his way to the bathroom. A nice warm shower would be the perfect thing to wake him up. Arthur always loved showering in the morning. It helped wake him up and prepare him for the day. It was also quite refreshing.

Arthur stepped out of the shower, towel wrapped tightly around his waist. He walked over to the sink and put his glasses on and looked at himself in the mirror. His hair, since wet, set straight down. Arthur quickly ran his fingers through it, messing it up before leaving the bathroom.

"Arthur?" He turned and saw his mother walking towards him.

"Yeah?"

"How is everything?" She asked and Arthur just gave her a confused look.

"Huh?"

"School and all that. You came home sort of mad yesterday."

"Oh, yeah. Just a bad day. Nothing to worry about." He gave her a small smile before walking away.

"You can talk to me, you know." He gave her another nod before going to his room. He knew he could talk to his parents. The thing was, he didn't want to. He didn't want them to worry. They didn't need to deal with his problems.

"Hello darling." Arthur jumped and looked over towards the sound of the voice. There, sitting on his bed, was the guy. Eames.

"What are you doing here?" Arthur hissed out as he shut the door. He did not need his parents hearing the strange man in his room.

"I told you, I am here to help you. To be a friend." Arthur just looked at him.

"I told you to leave."

"And I did, but I came back. It is my job. I just can't abandon you. Not when you need me." Arthur took a deep breath. Maybe humoring the guy would help him out. Unless he was going crazy, then this might make him even crazier.

"Look, if I let you stay, you are going to explain everything to me. Okay."

"Fine by me. Like I said last night, there are rules with me being here." Arthur nodded and ran a hand through his hair. He had to be going crazy. He looked over at Eames again.

He didn't really get to check too much about him last night. Today was wearing an ugly coral shirt with some khaki pants. His hair was gelled over to the side in a bad comb over. He looked like he was trying to be older than what he really was. Arthur had no idea why. He didn't seem too old, he didn't need to age himself.

Being fairly honest, Eames was a very good looking guy. He had some weird features, like his teeth, his lips and his nose, but them all together somehow make him look perfect. Wait. What was he thinking? Bad thoughts. Bad Arthur. He did not need to be thinking like that. He looked away and took a deep breath before walking over to his closet and pulling out something to wear.

"Um, could you leave so I can get dressed?" He asked as he looked over at Eames. Eames just smirked.

"Alright my little modest friend." And just like that, Eames was gone. Arthur smiled. That was easy. He quickly got dressed just in case Eames came back early.

Sure they were both men, but there was something different about Eames. Arthur was not just going to give him a free show. Not that Arthur wanted to show Eames anything. That was not the case at all.

He grabbed his bag and quietly left his room. It was a nice day out, considering it had rained the night before, so he decided he would spend the day outside. Enjoy it while it lasts.

They did live by a park. Maybe he could have some time alone there. It was nice to be alone sometimes. Being alone all the time was the problem. But every once in a while, it was good.

The park was surprisingly vacant. It was still early though. From what Arthur had noticed, most of the children come in the afternoon. Arthur found a spot by a tree and sat down. He pulled out his dream book and started reading.

"So you like dreams?" Arthur jumped and looked over. There sitting next to him was Eames. Smirking at him. "You left so I followed you here."

"How did you get passed my parents?" Eames chuckled and Arthur realized it was a stupid question. Eames could disappear at will. So it was probably easy to get passed his parents.

"Well, it is one of the rules." Arthur shut his book and turned so he could fully pay attention to Eames.

"Okay, so, tell me these so called rules." Really, there were rules to this so called friendship.

"Well rule one, you aren't really allowed to talk about me to other people."

"Why not?"

"Well, it goes along with rule two, which is only you can see me." Arthur's eyes widened.

"So right now, it looks like I am talking to thin air?"

"Yes." Eames replied with a little smile.

"So, are you like Hobbes or something?" Eames gave him a confused look.

"Hobbes?"

"Calvin and Hobbes? It is a comic. Hobbes is his stuffed tiger and imaginary friend." Eames still looked confused. "Never mind."

"Alright. But if you talk about me to other people, thinks get complicated and then I have to go away. But I can go with you to places and give you some advice, but other people can't ever see me. It is sort of a punishment for me."

"Punishment?" Arthur asked, leaning forward a bit.

"Another day for that lovely story." Eames said with a small smile.

"So, why exactly are you my friend? I have been lonely for months now."

"You finally asked for one. I couldn't just come unless you asked. And I told you, it is my job. People like me, this is what we do. We see a child in need and we go them."

"So if I was five, you would be an adult friend to a five year old?" Arthur said with a little laugh. "Because that is kind of creepy." Eames gave a little chuckle and Arthur found that Eames had a very beautiful smile.

"No. We can change our appearance for the child. If the child was five, we would be five and grow up with them until they don't need us anymore." Arthur just looked at him.

This all just seemed so unreal. Things like this didn't really happen in real life. It was almost like a some bedtime story or something.

"I'm sorry, but this just seems like bullshit to me."

"Believe what you want Arthur, but I am not going anywhere." Arthur looked over and saw that Eames smiling at him.

"Whatever." Arthur said as he leaned back against the tree and opened his book again.


Arthur walked back into his room, followed by Eames. Eames had not said a single thing the entire time they were at the park. He just sat there and watched him.

It was creepy and it drove Arthur crazy, which was why he came back early.

"So, you said you were supposed to help me. Are you going to tell me how? Because if you are just going to sit and watch me, I can tell you it will get old real quick." He asked as he turned and faced Eames. Eames just smiled and walked over and sat down on the bed.

"Well, you need to tell me more about yourself Arthur, if I am to help you."

"Shouldn't you be all knowing?" Arthur asked, sitting across from him. "I mean, you knew I asked for a friend."

"I am, but it seems more helpful if you tell me about yourself. You know, I want to know what you want."

"I just want a friend. I want people who don't judge me. I don't want to be bullied. I want to be normal. Like everyone else."

"Being normal isn't always the best way to go about things. Everyone is abnormal in their own way. And bullying is a fact of life. It happens everywhere. You just have to not let it get to you. But the friend thing I can help you with. Tell me, do you talk to anyone at school?"

"No, hence me being lonely."

"Come on Arthur, there has to be someone you talk to, even if it is only a few words."

"There is this one guy, Dom. I think that is his name. He is in my English class. Sometimes we talk, but it is only for a few minutes. Nothing really too special. It is usually about homework or about tests."

"Well, we shall start with him. On Monday, I want you to start a conversation with him."

"What? What do I have to talk about?"

"Um, why don't you try English?" Arthur gave him a glare.

"Gee, thanks Sherlock. I never would have thought of that."

"I'm just saying. You need to try. Make an effort. Have some imagination. Things are not going to come free you know."

"Like you? Is there a price I pay in the end for your services?" Eames' face fell. Arthur didn't mean to offend him.

"No. I'm free." Eames looked out the window and Arthur saw sadness in his eyes. There was something that Eames was hiding from him. There was more to Eames then he let on and Arthur would find out.


When Monday came, Eames didn't go to school with Arthur. At night, Eames disappeared and Arthur really didn't know where he went, but he didn't question it. And Eames didn't really appear in the morning until much later, so Arthur figured that he would see Eames after school.

Arthur was at his locker putting his books away and getting ready for class when Eames appeared.

"Nash is coming. Go to class." Arthur was a little entranced by Eames just appearing out of thin air, he didn't really comprehend what Eames had said.

"What?" Arthur said as he closed his locker.

"Go." Eames said forcibly. Arthur nodded and hurried to class, not asking questions.

When English came, Arthur walked into class and sat down next to Dom like he had done every day. Arthur needed to remain calm and not overdo this. He did not want to look like an idiot.

"Hey." Arthur said with a small smile. Dom looked over and smiled.

"Hey Arthur." Arthur pulled out his book and notebook as the bell rang. Dom knew his name. That was a good start.

At the end of class, the teacher announced that there was going to be a partner project. Great. She wanted them to start thinking about ideas and who to partner with and all those wonderful details that went with partner projects.

"Arthur." He looked over and saw Dom looking at him.

"Yeah."

"Listen, would you want to be partners for that?"

"Um, sure." Arthur said with a smile. The bell rang. End of class and the end of the day. Arthur thought it would never come.

"Great." Dom said as he stood up. "We will talk later. I will try and brainstorm some ideas. You too." Arthur nodded as Dom walked out.

"You see, was that so hard?" He looked over and saw Eames smiling at him.

"We are partners, nothing else. Partner projects usually never end up in friendship." Arthur whispered as he gathered up his things and walked towards the door. When he was a couple feet from the door, he fell face first on the floor.

"That's for running off before first period." Nash hissed out. Arthur looked up just quick enough to see Nash smack straight into the door. The door that had been open seconds before. He didn't even see it close.

Arthur pulled himself up with a small smile as Eames walked back through the door that Nash had forced open and run out of faster than bat out of hell.

"Blimey bastard." Arthur just smiled and walked through the hallway with a smile on his face, Eames next to him, commenting on all of the students.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.


"So, when does the project begin?" Eames asked as he looked at Arthur's bookcase.

The walk home had been very interesting. Eames talked about when he was in school and how things have changed since then. Eames also questioned Arthur why he didn't have a car (reason 1 being that they lived close to the school, and reason 2 being Arthur had no money for one).

It was nice. Arthur had almost forgotten what it was like having an actual conversation with another person other than his parents.

"Um, in a couple of weeks. She just wanted us to be prepared for it and start thinking about what we are going to do for it. You know, brainstorm and all that." Arthur replied as he finished a Calculus problem. Eames gave a small hum in response.

"Are all these notebooks full?" Eames asked as he picked up one. Arthur looked up to see what he was talking about then quickly ran off the bed and made a grab for the notebook.

"Don't! Those are private!" He shouted, but instead of running into Eames, he ran straight through him and hit the bookshelf, causing it to wobble and knocking some notebooks on the floor.

He had gone through Eames. Like literally. He knew that Eames was sort of imaginary, but still, he thought he would have been somewhat solid. He slowly turned around and saw Eames looking at him.

They just stared at each other in silence for a few moments before Arthur spoke up.

"Are you a ghost?" He asked. Eames laughed.

"You could say that." Eames said as he walked back towards the bed.

"So that whole imaginary friend line was bullshit?"

"No. I am not here to haunt you. I am here to help you."

"Why can't you just be honest with me and tell me about why you are here? It can't be that bad."

"Because you don't need to know!" Eames shouted. Arthur took a step back at the force of his voice. Eames let out a small sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry. Maybe when the time is right, I will tell you, but not now."

"Okay." Arthur whispered out.

"Well, I think that is enough for today. I will see you tomorrow morning. Goodnight Arthur." And just like that, Eames was gone.

Arthur just stared at the area Eames had just been moments before.

He knelt down and put his notebooks back before grabbing a clean one. He walked over to his bed and sat down. He opened his notebook and started to compile everything he knew about Eames.

He would figure all of this out.


Thank you all for reading! I hope you are enjoying it and I will try and update as soon as possible!