Wishing Things Were Perfect

"Hey, Jules!" Ryan called out, waving to his girlfriend. Jupiter grinned at the boy.

"Hey!" She replied as Ryan ran up to the girl. The two linked arms before going towards the sidewalk and down the road.

 It seemed that the two had known each other for years. That's how it always was. It seemed to be just the two of them, in their own little world. Ryan and Jupiter had been through a lot, but now they were on the other side of all of that. 

  Ryan intertwined the two's hands as they talked and caught up on the day. This was always Ryan's favorite part of the day. No matter what kind of crap he'd gone through that day, Jupiter was always there to cheer him up. 

  The two eventually came to the front of the Jupiter's door. The two stepped inside and went straight to the kitchen. Jupiter gathered ingredients while Ryan prepped the stove. After Jupiter got everything together, she kissed Ryan on the cheek while saying she'd go get the blankets. Ryan nodded as he popped the popcorn after adding the oil and kernels. He could see Jupiter go to the living room through the small kitchen window. He watched as she set the blankets on the couch.

  "Ouch!" He winced as some of the oil splattered onto his hand. He heard hurried footsteps enter the kitchen and looked up to see Jupiter. She took his hand in hers and observed it. She led him over to the sink and ran water over it.

  "It's not that bad, Jules," Ryan assured her. She huffed and finished rubbing some sort of creme on the burn. She wrapped it before looking up at him. They stayed like that for a second, just staring. Until something hit Ryan like a train as the smell of something burning greeted him. 

   "THE POPCORN!"

  Later on, the couple was cuddled up on the couch watching some movie. Jupiter was cuddled up into Ryan's side, both of them curled up in a blanket. Ryan ate the popcorn, occasionally offering some to Jupiter only to be turned down. Soon the movie ended and the two began cleaning up. 

  Suddenly, a few knocks came from the door down the hall. Ryan knew this was the sign for him to leave. He gave Jupiter a kiss on the cheek for a goodbye before heading out the door. Ryan finally made it to his house and entered it.

  "Hi, mo-" Time stopped. Ryan froze in place as well as everyone and everything around him. None of them noticed, however, because they were in some sort of absence of mind. They stayed there for a long time.

"Morning mom." Ryan greeted his mother as he came down the stairs. He stuffed a piece of toast in his mouth as he went out to start his day. 

Ryan never could really ever remember what happened every night after he got home. He didn't question it, though. It was just normal for him. So he went about his day as usual. Soon school got out and he walked outside to see Jupiter. They said hello and continued on their way, just like any other day.

  They stopped in at a diner and ordered food. They chatted about their days and everything else. Ryan let Jupiter play on his phone after a while since he knew she needed something to keep her attention. They continued talking after the food arrived and soon it was time to walk Jupiter home. 

  "So, why won't your dad come out of his room, again?" Ryan asked.

  "He has a pretty low immune system. So he doesn't want to be out while visitors are around." Jupiter explained, for what seemed to be the millionth time. Each time Ryan would ask this, he'd get the same answer. He didn't think much about it as they continued on their way. 

  The two arrived at Jupiter's house and they sat on the stairs. They'd play a game as people walked by, imagining stories of what their life was like. They play this game often and some people even made comments about their stories as they walked by. Some comments were better than others. 

  Soon enough, the knocks on the front door sounded and Ryan kissed Jupiter on the cheek. He spoke a quick 'I love you' before heading on his way. He didn't turn back until he reached down and noticed something was missing. His phone. He quickly turned around and rushed back to Jupiter's house. He knocked and waited at the door. He waited for a few minutes before knocking a bit louder.

"Jules! Mr. West!" He called out but he received no answer. Ryan took a glance at the knob of the door. He hesitated a bit before announcing himself, "I'm coming inside!"

He stepped through the door and everything felt...strange. Suddenly, the house felt like the feeling changed. A few minutes ago, the lights were on. Now they were off and the house felt hollow. Ryan took a few more steps in, ignoring the now open door. He looked around, feeling very confused. Ryan took a glance at the door leading to what he assumed to be his girlfriend's father's bedroom. 

  Ryan walked towards it slowly. He knocked on the door. He put his ear up to the door to try and find any sign of movement. When there was one, he opened the door. What he found shocked him.

A closet.

A closet filled with shoes, jackets, and all sorts of things you would normally find in a closet. This can't be right, he thought. What could be going on here? This is clearly where he had heard Jupiter's father knocking from the other side of the door. 

Ryan backed away from the closet in quite a bit of shock. He had no idea what to think. Ryan knew there was always one other person in the house with them. He also knew there was only one other bedroom in the small house. Ryan knew there was no way someone was hiding in there the whole time. He was always here at least three hours at a time and the closet was tiny. Jupiter would never cheat on him, he knew that. So why was he feeling so hurt?

Ryan went home and time stopped again, unbeknownst to him. Again, he went through the day as if everything were normal. Ryan knew that nothing felt normal anymore. Later, he went up to Jupiter but without a smile and only a small wave. Jupiter automatically noticed something was off. This wasn't normal for Ryan to do this. So when Ryan began walking with her, she brought it up. 

"Are you okay?" Jupiter asked. Ryan glanced at her and then looked away.

"I'm fine." Jupiter felt like she'd been stabbed with a needle, "Also, do you still have my phone?"

Jupiter felt her back pocket and felt the device was there. She pulled out the phone and held it out to Ryan. He took it without saying a word. The rest of the walk was like that, silent and awkward. Soon enough they got to the front door and Ryan stopped. Jupiter turned to him in confusion. 

"Jupiter, can I look at something in your house?" Ryan suddenly asked. Jupiter stood there in a bit of surprise before answering. 

"Yea, sure I-" She couldn't get another word out before Ryan went inside. Jupiter ran after him and yelled as he opened the closet door. The door where Jupiter could come to this world. She watched as golden light poured out of the small room. Ryan stared at it with wide eyes.

"Jupiter...what is this...?" A loud rumble erupted from outside the house. Jupiter panicked as she quickly shoved her and Ryan through the door.

Jupiter waited by her bed for Ryan to wake up. She looked around her room that was nothing like the Real Room she had created in the small house. Her real home was much much larger and had many rooms. So when she created the Real Room, she made it small, different, and cozy. 

Ryan slowly stirred awake. He looked around him and something felt very....off. He looked around the room to see all sorts of things that didn't seem familiar. His eyes finally landed beside him. There was Jupiter, sleeping soundly in a very squishy looking chair that sunk to the ground. Ryan sat up and looked around. This was definitely not Jupiter's room.

  Jupiter woke up to the sound of fabric moving and footsteps on the floor. She sat up suddenly and stumbled to get to the now open door. She knew he'd be confused but she thought he would at least wait for her.

  "Ryan! Wait up!" Jupiter yelled. She caught up to him and found him staring outside to the city below. 

"Jules....what is this place."

"I have a lot to explain...don't I...."

Jupiter sat Ryan down and she explained everything to him. How she is reality shifter in this world. How she created that world he lived in. Even how she crafted that world to freeze time once everyone went home there. Then lastly...how since he discovered her world.... it was gone.

"Gone?"

"It's...corrupted. If even one character found out, it would be over. I just hate that it had to be you." Ryan had a lot going through his mind. Everything and everyone he knew....were not real. He wasn't real. He felt tears pouring down his face as Jupiter embraced him. She held him close as he cried.

For the next few weeks, Ryan stayed in the apartment with Jupiter. He finally met her real mother and father and learned all there is to know about this new world. It all felt strange to him but he knew there was no returning to his old life. To his old world where everything made sense and was normal. 

Later on, he became comfortable. He would watch movies with Jupiter like they used to. He would cook with her as he used to. So Jupiter treasured each and every one of these moments. Because soon she knew it would catch up, it would take him away. It would be soon, based on the estimate she had. So she treasured every moment.

For very soon....he would die.