thatguyry-iswritin

[thatguyry-iswritin]

You Can Hear Me?

One Day I’m sitting in class, bored out of my mind and I begin to wonder if there might be any mind readers in the room with me. I find myself thinking of the most outrageous and obnoxious things trying to catch them off guard. I scan the room as I think of funny jokes in an attempt to make someone laugh. Nobody reacts, I glance over at my crush, Aden, and I sigh thinking about how if he knew what I was doing he’d probably think I was crazy. I laugh to myself and instead try to focus on the lecture. The boring monotone voice of my teacher struggles to grab my attention. I begin to wander off in thought and I get an idea. If jokes and annoyance isn’t working then I should just scream as loud as I can in my head to really catch them off guard. After a loud shrill screech I look around and see Aden flinch and look back at me. We make eye contact for a brief moment before he quickly turns back to the front of the class. My eyes widen as I process what just happened. Immediately I begin questioning him. “Can you hear me? How long have you been able to hear me? Did you hear the jokes? Am I not funny, or were you just trying not to laugh? Can you hear every thought I have? Shit… can you hear everything? Oh my god that’s actually really embarrassing… Can you hear everyone or just me?” I ramble on question after question and Aden gets up and leaves the room. I look around the room frantically but everyone else is as calm as can be. For them it’s just another random tuesday afternoon, sitting in a boring class that nobody wants to be in but we all have to take. I get up trying to remain as cool and collected as I can as I rush to the door. Once I’m in the hallway I see Aden pacing back and forth. Without speaking I look at him and think “so, how long have you been able to hear me?” He stops pacing and looks at me, he rolls his eyes and he laughs.

“You don’t have to just think things, it would be nice if you could just talk to me.”

“Fine, but seriously how long?” I ask out loud

“I don’t really know, just a few months now. And no, it’s not just you. It's everyone, everywhere I go all day every day. Some people think it would be cool to hear people's thoughts but in all honesty it's exhausting and sometimes really hurtful.”

“Hurtful?”

“People can be really mean sometimes, but it’s even worse when you can hear their thoughts. So many people who you think are the nicest are some of the worst.”

“Oh…” I look at him with so much guilt of all of the times I’ve thought bad things about people assuming they would never know

“Yeah, it’s not all it's cracked up to be. I will say though some people think of the funniest things and it's so hard for me to not just laugh out loud… also yes… I did think your jokes were kinda funny.” He chuckles and gives me a slight smile

“Why thank you” I laugh as well. I glance at his lips and think about how much I’d love to kiss him before I catch myself and begin to blush, “shit… you heard that didn’t you.”

“I did.” He laughs and walks closer to me, “just to let you know I’ve been thinking the same thing about you, I’ve just never known how to tell you.” He grabs my face and leans in for a kiss that will change my life forever.

[thatguyry-iswritin]

Mystery Storm

Sam and I had been out all day going to a farmers market, not a cloud to be seen when suddenly thunder begins to rumble in the distance loudly I glance over. Big black threatening clouds roll their way across the sky. The sight sends shivers down my spine and I look back to Sam who is happily talking with the one of the sellers. They don’t seem phased by what’s about to ruin a perfectly nice Saturday. I try to ignore it and listen in on what they are discussing, but I can’t stay focused as the thunder gets louder and closer. I look back and the clouds are creeping up quickly, almost right above us. Sam is still only interested in what the girl is saying about her dad’s farm and when the best time to pick the fruit is. My eyes start to wander around and I realize that nobody is worried about the storm that’s about to make everyone soaked if we aren't careful and head home now. Not a single person has noticed the crashing thunder or how drastically darker the sky is. I tug on Sam’s hand and she looks over at me, she must have noticed the concern on my face because she quickly wraps up the conversations, grabs her bag and starts to walk away with me. 

“Please god tell me you see this.” I whimper as it’s just me and her.

“See what? Are you okay, you look like you saw a fucking ghost or something?” She asks while grabbing my hand in hers.

“The storm that’s coming, it’s right above us but nobody even cares.” I explain.

She looks up at the sky and back at me with sad eyes, “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you are talking about.”

I don’t say anything else, I just let go of her hand and walk with my head down. She tries to get me to talk to her but I can’t say anything, I don’t know what to say. As thunders booms I jump and tears begin to flow down my face. I don't understand how I’m the only one who can see this happening. I stop in my tracks as I hear a little boy yelling at his mom, trying to get her attention.

“Mommy! Mommy! We’re gonna get wet mommy! We have to leave now it’s gonna start raining soon! Mommy!”

The mother just dismisses him when she looks up only to see clear skies. My heart drops to my feet and I don’t know how to react. Sam has stepped off to the side to grab some more food for the house, so I walk over to him.

“I can see it too.” I tell the little boy.

[thatguyry-iswritin]

(Prompt: write a story inside your character's mind, literally)

Remembering My Hero:

After a night filled with monstrous dreams I finally wake up. Beads of sweat roll off my forehead as I sit up groggily in the bed. The night's dreams begin to become distant memories as I ruffle through the sheets to find my phone. With luck not being on my side I can't seem to find it. I give up with a deep sigh and lay back down. The grogginess of the early morning heavy on my shoulders. I glance around the dark room with a sinking suspicion that something is off. I sift around for my phone once more without getting up this time. There were many nights that it gets tossed to the floor, so, not finding it wasn't cause for much distress. To no avail I came up with nothing.

"Johnny!" A muffled voice calls out to me.

I shoot up in my bed and look around hastily. The distant voice calls to me again so I jump out of bed and rush to the door. When the door flies open I'm not met with the hallway I was expecting. Instead an eerie darkness falls upon me. A gasp escapes my lips as I frantically look around. The voice continues to shout my name, sounding even further than before. What sounds like crying also begins to echo through the pitch black nothingness. I turn to find familiarity in my room only to discover that it has disappeared into the darkness as well. I sink to the ground as my heart begins to start pounding in my chest. I bury my face into my knees with tears streaming and sobs shaking my shoulders.

The only sounds around me became my own and the distant crying. I cautiously glance up in a weak attempt to ground myself. The nothingness continued to consume me so I dropped my head and squeezed my legs closer to me. I tightly confined my body into a ball and focused on my breathing. This had to be a continuation of the nightmares so I told myself I just had to wake up. My breath slowly evened out and the tears subsided. The sound of heavy footsteps halted everything and made my eyes shut even tighter than before.

"Hello?" A booming yet friendly voice echoed

I began to shiver, refusing to look up, afraid of what I might find.

"J-Johnny is that you?" The voice was quieter yet still thunderous in the emptyness.

At the sound of my name I dared to peak up from my knees. My eyes followed a pair of hairy, purple legs up to an even hairier, familiar looking face. "Bubby?" My voice was loud and bounced around even though it came out in what felt only like a whisper.

"I thought that was you!" Bubby, my giant bear like imaginary best friend, exclaimed as he scooped me into his big arms. "How did you get in here? I haven't seen you in so long!"

"Well I honestly don't know… I just woke up here." My answer was louder than I intended yet again and echoed for miles. Even in so much fear, the familiar warmth of Bubby's embrace soothed my soul.

"Hmm" his hum rumbled through my body, "that's so strange. It's also crazy to hear how loud your thoughts have gotten with age."

"Thoughts?" My question boomed.

Bubby looked at me puzzled for a moment, "your dreams, day or night, we never really talked I guess. It's also nornally less dark when you are around. You sure do love to think up some crazy adventures for us." He chuckled

"So I am dreaming?" I left my question unspoken and the volume of the thought sounded as though it came straight from my lips.

"That's my guess but something is different this time… and I haven't seen you in so long, I thought I was forgotton years ago." Bubby's shoulders slumped and a sorrowful expression fell accross his face as he spoke.

I'd never seen him like this before. He was always so joyous in every situation. Even the time we slayed the dragon a smile remained on his face as he confidently led me through battle. Something was off, it really was different this time. Even with all of the creativity and imagination of a child, seeing my imaginary best friend never fealt as real as it did now. As my thoughts pieced together Bubby straightened up and threw me a confused and slightly panicked glance.

"No… no," he muttered while placing me on my feet, "you can't be in here…. No… that would have to mean something terrible happened." His voice shook as he spoke.

Before another thought could cross my mind the distant sound of sirens filled the air.

"NO!" Bubby cried out, the sound louder than anything I'd ever heard before.

Ringing filled my ears as my hands instinctively flew up to cover them. Bubby picked me up once again and threw me over his shoulder as he began to run. My head was spinning as it started to throb in response to the ringing. Everywhere around us felt as though it was closing in. Suddenly I noticed a bright light in the distance.

"Don't worry I'm getting you home!" Bubby called to me.

His footsteps matched the rhythm of a beating heart as we raced towards the light.

"Just don't give up on me. Please." He pleaded.

My eyes began to shut to block out the piercing light.

"Please wake up John. I can't lose you again." His voice became muffled and sounded almost feminine, "please I need you."

The ringing started to subside as the sound of a woman crying replaced it. The sound of a moniter beeping steadily also filled my ears.

"Don't do this to me, please just open your eyes.." The woman pleaded.

I recognized her voice immediately once it was clear, it was my mother. Her words brought a warm feeling to my chest. I fought to open my eyes to see her but I couldn't find the strength. I tried to move but nothing seemed to be working. Eventually I gave up and that's when I felt hands on my shoulders.

"You need to get back out there. But before you go…" It was Bubby, I saw him in front of me. His large frame being my only view. "You should try and think of me more, even if it's just for this," he suggested as he pulled me into a tight bear hug.

When he let go my eyes fluttered open to a bright room. I winced at the light and heard my mom gasp. She called for a nurse as my eyes adjusted to the room. Along the wall I saw my dad and fiancé standing from their chairs. A smile landed on my lips as I was relieved to see them. Even in this joyous reunion there was a part of me that wasn't ready to say goodbye to Bubby. Time and time again he was always my hero. He was right, I'd have to think of him again, even just to say thank you and catch back up.