Hello again guys!
Thank you for your reviews, and those who have followed this story. I appreciate it!
I enjoyed writing this chapter a lot. Hopefully you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!
A loud gasp escaped Pip's lips as he opened his eyes. Frozen to the spot, he looked around the room... Which looked just like it had done in that dream.
What was going on? Why was he having the same dream again? Though, it wasn't even the same, he could control his movements exactly like he could last time. He looked down at his hands, and loosened the fists. Yes, he could definitely control his movements once again. So if he was in the same room as he was last time, then surely...
He looked up and found the desk once again. This time, the man was already sitting down at the desk, and was staring up at Pip with his crimson eyes. Pip shivered.
The man gestured with his hand for Pip to sit down. The blonde slowly made his way to the seat, and lowered himself into it.
"It's good to see you again. Sorry I couldn't come to see you sooner, I have been caught up with a few things," the man said.
"W-What?" Pip stammered. The man tilted his head.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"You're just someone in a dream... How can you get caught up with things?"
The man chuckled.
"I'm not 'just' someone in a dream. I'm in a dream, that is correct. But that isn't who I am completely."
"Then who are you? How are you in my dream?"
"You'll learn who I am soon enough, Pip," the man said. "And that's easy. Haven't you already guessed that I am rather in control here?"
Pip glanced around the room. Was he implying that he was the one who had created all of this?
"Did you... Make all of this?" Pip asked. The man shook his head.
"Not exactly. I can control this place, but I did not make it."
"I don't exactly understand how this is all happening..."
The man smiled.
"You will, soon enough. But shall we talk about you?"
"M-Me?" Pip questioned. "Why me?"
"Well, this is supposedly your dream, isn't it?" the man said.
"Yes..." Pip said. "Except... Can you at least tell me your name?"
"I suppose that is only fair," said the man. He reached out one pale hand, the nails painted black. "My name is Damien."
Pip reached out and shook Damien's hand. A chill went down his spine the moment he did so.
"This is your dream, so we shall talk about you," Damien smiled, and clicked his fingers. Pip gasped as some sort of file dropped into Damien's right hand in a flash of fire, which disappeared quickly. Damien placed it onto the desk, and rested both of his hands on it. Pip peered at its cover, and was fairly surprised to see his own name written in red writing across the top of the black file.
"W-Why is my name..." Pip couldn't finish his words.
"We will get to that soon enough," said Damien. "But we need to discuss something else first."
"And what is that?" asked Pip.
"Do you believe that there is anyone out there who listens to your prayers?"
Pip thought his heart had stopped for a moment.
"H-How do you know about that?"
"You didn't answer my question. I do not like people answering my questions with their own question," Damien smirked.
"I-I don't know..." said Pip. "I hope there is, but I lost my faith that God is listening a while ago... I just pray because it's the only thing I can do."
"God has never listened," said Damien, shaking his head. "Not to you, at the very least. The amount of words you have whispered to him is great, and yet... How many has he listened to? None. In fact, I often wonder if he listens to any prayers out there."
"So you are saying there is no point behind praying?" Pip questioned.
"I would not say that. Just because God has not been listening to you, it does not mean nobody has been listening to you."
"I don't understand..."
"I will help you to," Damien said, and he opened up the black file his hands were rested on. Pip had almost forgotten about that. "Do you know what this contains, Pip?"
"I do not..."
"This contains your prayers, Pip," said Damien as he flicked through the pages. "Years and years of words of what you have wanted, all contained, in pages of print."
"B-But how?" Pip questioned, astonished.
"Like I said, just because God has not been listening to you, it does not mean nobody has. I can see a lot about you on these pages."
"Can't you explain this more to me? I'm afraid I have next to no clue about what is going on..."
"I'm sorry to say that we may not have enough time for that, with what I want to do with you," Damien said softly.
Pip jumped out of his chair, and began to slowly back away.
"W-What you want to do with me?" Pip repeated, his eyes wide. Damien looked at him silently, then chuckled and shook his head.
"My dear Pip, I don't mean anything to harm you," said Damien. He stopped flicking through the pages of the file, and looked down at the page he was on. "Please... If you're listening... Just make him stop."
"T-That's..."
"That is your prayer from before you went to sleep," said Damien. "Those words were about Craig Tucker, correct?"
"Yes..."
"He takes his anger out on you, doesn't he? Something bad happens and he chooses you to help make him feel better. The small, innocent blonde who is bullied by many. It's an easy choice, and so he chooses it."
"How do you know this?"
"Like I said, we do not have time for details tonight," said Damien. He clicked his fingers once again, and the file disappeared in the flash of fire. "How about we go and see Craig?"
"Go and see him?" Pip frowned. "But how can I when I am asleep?"
"I shall explain on the way," Damien smiled. He walked over to the window, and with a quick wave of his hand, the fire vanished and it had opened. Damien jumped out of it, and landed straight into the tree just outside of it gracefully and with ease. He reached out a hand, his eyes staring into Pip's. "Shall we?"
Pip walked over to the window hesitantly, and stopped when he was by it.
"I-I can't do that..." he said, staring at Damien standing in the tree.
"Come on, it'll be fine. I will catch you. What is there to lose?"
After another moment of hesitation, Pip jumped, and closed his eyes as he did so. He expected to hit the ground, but his hand had grabbed onto Damien's and he was safely stood on the branch of the tree.
"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Damien chuckled. Still clutching Pip's hand, he jumped out of the tree, and they lowered to the ground at an unnatural speed. He let go of Pip's hand once they had landed, and smirked.
"If you can do that, what was the point in jumping onto the tree in the first place?" Pip questioned, an eyebrow raised.
"Because I wanted to prove to you that you are able to trust me. If I had just grabbed your hand and jumped out of the window, I would have only surprised you. You wouldn't have made it into that tree if it wasn't for me catching you," Damien explained.
"I see..." Pip said.
"Come, we must get there quickly," said Damien, and began to walk away. Pip followed him, staring around at him in wonder.
It was South Park, and yet it was completely different. The town was recognisable, and yet it was full of fire, which wasn't even burning the grass or anything. It was so strange. Even though he was sleeping, it all felt so... Real.
"Damien?" said Pip, still looking at his surroundings.
"Yes?"
"Why does everything look like this?" he asked. "It looks like... Hell."
"It is similar to Hell, yes. It is just as real as Hell, and trust me, both are very real."
"But how is it real when I am asleep?"
"Because I have the power to take you here while you are unconscious. That is the only way how you can come here," said Damien.
"But how are those people here?" said Pip, pointing to four figures on the other side of the road.
"This place is like a different dimension to the normal world," said Damien. "One which you can only visit if I take you here, though I did not create it. Even though you are asleep, with me, you are able to see people who are here in your normal world, though they cannot see or hear you."
"That is incredible..." Pip said quietly. Damien nodded.
"Indeed it is," said Damien. He chuckled as they stood by the four people, who seemed to be highly intoxicated. "Some people in this world are very stupid."
"Yes, they are," Pip laughed the first laugh he had let out in front of Damien. The man stepped closer to one of the four people, who shivered and looked around him. "Can they sense you?"
"Yes, not you, however. They cannot see, hear or even feel the touch of either of us, but they can feel a chilling sensation from me."
Damien carried on walking down the sidewalk, and Pip hurriedly followed him. They walked in silence, with Pip looking around in awe all the while. Soon enough, they had arrived at Craig's house. Damien nodded towards the side of the building, and pointed up at the window.
"That is Craig's bedroom," said Damien. "That ledge is large enough for us to sit on."
"But how-"
Damien had already jumped up with a supernatural ability and was perched on the ledge. He reached out his hand, grinning.
"Come on, jump."
"I can't jump that high!"
"Just jump, Pip."
Feeling like a fool, Pip jumped. Somehow, shadows formed around him, and soon enough he was grabbing Damien's hand and was perched next to him on the window ledge.
"Oh, gosh," Pip said, and Damien chuckled.
"It seems as though Craig is awake," said Damien, looking through the window. Pip looked also, and he stopped smiling when he saw Craig.
He was still in his clothes, and he was sitting on the edge of his bed. Tears ran down his face as he held his phone to his ear, clearly listening to someone. His other hand was repeatedly brushing his raven hair back, and his hat was discarded on the floor. The window was open, and so they were able to hear him.
"Tweek, baby, please don't," they heard him plead. There was a pause. "I know, baby, I know... They are horrible; just don't listen to them, please... No, it's not true! Seriously Tweek, every word they say is a lie. Look, we have no school tomorrow; spend the day with me, okay? I need to see you, Tweek... I love you too. I need to hold you in my arms and tell you everything will be okay."
The boy looked up, and shivered as he looked out of his window. He walked over, shut the window, and pulled the curtains across. Pip was glad – he didn't want to hear any more.
Damien jumped down off the ledge, and gestured for Pip to as well. He did so, and yet again, lowered to the ground with ease.
"I never knew they were that close..." Pip said. "I just hope Tweek will be okay..."
"He will be," said Damien. "But I am more bothered about you being okay."
"Huh?"
"You are hurting too, just as much as Tweek is. Craig has added to this hurting, and so he needs be punished to learn that it is wrong."
"I understand now, though..." said Pip, looking back up at the window. "He's always taken out his anger and his sadness on other people."
"But he shouldn't!" said Damien, placing his pale hands on Pip's shoulders. "You are in a lot of pain, Pip, and you do nothing of the sort. Tweek hurts too, and yet he does not either. It does not matter if Craig's way of coping with his, or in this case, Tweek's pain – it is wrong, and nobody in the world should use their own pain as an excuse to cause others pain. Craig needs to learn that he cannot keep hurting you to make himself feel better, and he needs to learn that as soon as possible. Does that make sense to you?"
Pip looked up into Damien's red eyes. Pip had always made excuses for Craig, but Damien was right. Craig needed to stop.
"... Yes, it does," Pip nodded.
"Good," said Damien, releasing his hands off Pip's shoulders. He sighed, looking up at the sky, which was looking lighter than before. "I will try to see you sooner next time, Pip. But it looks like you will be waking up any minute now."
"But..." Pip hesitated. He had strangely begun to feel at ease with Damien, even though there were still so many unanswered questions. Where did Damien come from? How did he have all of these powers? How was he able to bring Pip to this place?
Who exactly was Damien?
"Until next time, Pip."
Pip's eyes fluttered open, and they looked around his bedroom. He sat up, taking in the normal appearance of his bedroom. No fire, homely colours, the regular cross above his bed. It had all turned back to how it was... No, it hadn't. Nothing had changed; he had just come back to the normal world.
Pip almost laughed at himself. He had returned to the normal world? It sounded ridiculous. But was it true? Was it more than just a dream?
He stretched and got out of bed. Images of Craig on the phone to Tweek went through Pip's mind... That was real? The words of reassurance to Tweek, the tears running down Craig's face... The words 'I love you too'. Was it real? Was all of it real?
He felt a breeze run through his thin pyjamas, and he quickly put his dressing gown on. He almost froze as he did so – where was that breeze coming from? He was certain he had closed his window last night...
He looked over at it, and frowned at it in puzzlement. The curtains were drawn and the window was wide open. So when Damien opened the window... It actually happened? All while Pip was asleep?
All of these thoughts were beginning to give him a migraine. It was all true, the dream, and everything that had happened with Damien. It sounded crazy – in fact, it didn't just sound crazy, it was crazy. Had Damien been listening to his prayers all of this time? But how? It made no sense...
He had no idea who Damien was. Did he live in South Park? Pip had never seen him before. He had so many questions to ask him, he needed so many answers. He supposed he would just have to wait for Damien's next 'visit'... Or as it seemed, Pip's visit to whatever that place was.
Thank goodness it was a Saturday. He had been so distracted recently that he was barely keeping track of time. Perhaps he should just spend this day relaxing, and not really doing anything. He was so worn down by everything and he just needed a break.
And yet... Seeing Damien that night had somehow given him comfort. It was as though Damien was his friend. It was bizarre, sure, but he had never felt as connected to someone as he did with Damien, even though he had only seen him twice, and had only just learnt his name.
Part of Pip wanted him to walk around South Park that day, and see if he could spot Damien anywhere. Surely if Damien knew the way from Pip's house to Craig's, even if it was in some sort of different dimension, he was at least familiar with the small town?
A knock on his door startled him out of his thoughts.
"Who is it?" Pip called, even though he already knew the answer.
"It's me, Phillip. Can I come in?" he heard his mother's voice call.
"Yes, you can."
His mother opened the door, and stood in the doorway as though she was worried about entering.
"It's fine, you can come in," Pip said. His mother nodded, walked over to Pip's bed, and sat on it. Pip sat down beside her.
"How are you?"
"I'm good," said Pip.
His mother sighed, and put her arm around Pip.
"You didn't seem like that yesterday," she said. "What happened, Pip?"
"Well..."
Pip didn't want Craig to get into trouble. Yes, Damien was very truthful with his words, but both Craig and Tweek seemed to be going through a lot recently. But, he knew that his mother wouldn't leave him alone until he told her. He just had to make sure she wouldn't say anything to Mr Mackey.
"I was just having a pretty bad day all through yesterday. I just wanted to get home, really. But last lesson, in maths, Tweek wasn't there and I noticed that Craig had been crying, which is something he has hardly ever done before. I tried to ask him what was wrong, and he basically got really angry with me. It hurt me quite a bit because all I wanted to do was show I care, but I know that something is happening with Tweek and I also know that Craig didn't mean it at all. He'll apologise to me soon enough, I'm sure."
Naturally, Pip could not tell her about the phone call he had overheard between Craig and Tweek. 'Oh, a handsome tall fellow made me jump out of the window and follow him through streets full of fire so we could overhear a private conversation between two of my classmates while I was asleep'.
Nope, that would not work. Luckily, his mother seemed to understand he did not want to get Mr Mackey involved or anything like that.
"I'm not very happy that Craig got angry with you... But I do hope that he and Tweek will be okay soon."
"Yes, I do too."
His mother paused before continuing.
"They seem extremely close. Are they... More than friends?"
'I love you too. I need to hold you in my arms and tell you everything will be okay...'
"I believe so."
Pip walked through the streets that night. It wasn't so late, only around 8:00pm, but it was still dark. His mother was worried about him walking around at night, but Pip preferred it at this time. In this town it was quiet around this time. Most people his age would be getting ready for the party Token was holding that night. He had never been to one of Token's parties, but it was common knowledge that the ones at Token's house were the best. His parents were often away on the weekends because of work, and so he had the huge house to himself. He didn't even have to clean up himself; he could simply get the maids to do that for him. The only sounds tended to be the odd car driving by.
Pip loved the beauty of the night. The snow looked beautiful under the moonlight, and the sky was often clear and full of stars. It was very relaxing.
He sat down on a bench and took out his iPod. He was just going to listen to a couple of calm songs, and then start heading back. He peered down the sidewalk, and sat up a little when two figures were walking down the sidewalk near him. It was Craig and Tweek.
They were so enthralled with their conversation that neither of them noticed Pip sitting on the bench. He didn't mind, though. They probably would have gotten embarrassed if they noticed him sitting there, as their hands were linked.
A small smile grew on Pip's face. He never would have guessed that there was more between them. Yes, they had been inseparable for years, but they never showed any signs of loving each other romantically. It seemed as though it was something that they kept away from everybody else.
He took out his mobile phone when he felt it vibrate. It was a message from his mother.
'Pip, are you coming home soon? I don't want you walking around too late at night.'
He rolled his eyes. Apparently, 8:30 was late to his mother.
'I'm coming home now, don't worry.'
He rose up from the bench, and was about to walk down the direction Tweek and Craig had come from, but...
"C-Craig, what's going on? Y-Your eyes!" A loud cry from Tweek echoed through the street. Pip quickly turned around, and the event that occurred was quick.
Craig suddenly walked out onto the road, without a word. Tweek screamed, and quickly ran out after him, and without even thinking about it, pushed the taller boy out of the way. Pip cried out and covered his eyes, and when he opened them, Craig was crouched on the floor, and his eyes which had been pure black faded back to normal, and he was holding up Tweek's head.
"TWEEK!"
*Feels guilty as Tweek is perfect*
*Throws netbook out of window*
*Cries*
HE'S NOT DEAD, OKAY? I don't like to say these things but I adore Tweek and unless it fitted in tremendously, I wouldn't kill him. Okay? Okay.
I'm like... The opposite of Little Miss Sunshine. Seriously.
But yeah... I hoped you enjoyed the chapter EVEN THOUGH I AM CRUEL. Damien made another appearance, sooooo...
A couple of you said Damien sounds hot. Indeed he does. I find both guys and girls like that highly attractive. BISEXUAL AND GOTHIC PRIDE BIIIIITCHEEEEES.
I am a very weird person. Until next time.