Page 25 of A Flash of Neon
Neon nods. Part of me wants to defend Caitlin and Hannah, but I don’t. They can be really good friends sometimes … but not always. Not enough for me to stick up for them right now.
“Soeveryfictional character lives in this realm?” Tilly asks. “From books and films and stuff too?”
When Neon says yes, her eyes flash with excitement. “Do you know the showDoctor Who? Have you ever seen any of the characters there?”
Neon launches into a story about seeing one of the Doctors at a barbecue a while ago. Tilly claps her hands and shrieks with delight, and she practically passes out when he says he’s friends with the protagonist fromShadows of the Sea. She runs through all her favourite characters from her favourite media, and Neon has stories for five or six of them – he once helped two of the kids fromHeartstopperout of a rowing boat that was about to tip over.
Tilly’s eyes sparkle with joy. She loves stories. Last time I was in her room, it was covered with her fan art of her favourite characters. They’re almost as real to her as I am. They definitely mean more to her than I do now.
“Why don’t you want to go back there?” she asks. “That place sounds a thousand times better than the real world.”
“It’s hard to explain. When I was there, I always felt like I was real enough. But now I’m here…” Neon looks around: the vast loch in front of us, Bella sniffing around in the long grass, the wooden slats of the bench beneath our legs. “My life there isn’t as full as I thought it was.”
Tilly nods thoughtfully. “OK. My parents are going to an art exhibition in Inverness today. Come over this morning, and we’ll find you somewhere to stay.”
I forget that Tilly and I aren’t friends any more and throw my arms round her. “Thank you so much. You’re a life saver.”
She stiffens at first, then awkwardly pats my back. When she pulls away from me, there’s a small smile on her face.
“It’s only for a few days, though, right? Mum and Dad are both pretty busy with their work right now, but I don’t know how long I’ll be able to host a stowaway without them noticing.”
“Right, right. A few days.” Neon nods. “We’ll find something else after that.”
I’ve been so focused on finding Neon a place to stay that I almost forget I have to work in the shop at ten o’clock. Joel could definitely manage without me, but I can’t cancel this late – I don’t want him to get annoyed and tell Mum and Mutti about Neon’s visit, and I don’t want a lecture from them about responsibilities, either. We head home and find Joel at the kitchen table, bleary-eyed with a giant cup of coffee in his hands and a book open in front of him.
“Morning,” he says through a yawn. “You’re up early for a Saturday.”
“I couldn’t sleep.” I take a packet of crumpets from the bread bin and pop two in the toaster. “And Neon was already awake, so we went for a walk.”
“Oh, right.” Joel takes a sip of coffee and turns the page. “Are you heading home today, Neon?”
Neon takes the jam from the fridge. “I’ve actually decided to stick around!”
“Only for a little longer,” I add quickly. “But it’s OK – he’s staying with Tilly this week.”
“Oh, OK.” Other people would check if he’d got his mum’s permission for that, but Joel’s brain runs at a limited capacity in the mornings. “Are you and Tilly friends again, then? You haven’t mentioned her in ages.”
“No. Well, sort of? Not really.” It had felt so good to talk to her again, but I don’t want to get my hopes up. If she’s doing us a favour, then it’s for Neon, not me. “Actually, could Neon borrow some of your old clothes? He didn’t bring enough for two weeks.”
Joel says that’s fine, and once Neon and I have finished our crumpets they head upstairs to go through Joel’s wardrobe. I run upstairs to get changed into my uniform – Mum had Every Book & Cranny T-shirts made up last year after doing an online course on branding – and look out my old phone for Neon to use. The screen is cracked, and there are only a few pounds’ worth of credit left on the eSIM, but it’ll do for emergencies.
Worries are starting to prickle at the back of my mind. If Neon really wants to stay here, how is he going to live? He can’t sleep in Tilly’s barn and wear Joel’s hand-me-downs forever. He’ll need a home and money, food and clothes. He’ll have to go to school. Maybe it’s not like that in the Realm, but there’s no escaping it here.
“I’ll give you a lift to the farm,” Joel tells me when he comes out of his room. “Then we can go straight to the shop afterwards.”
While I wait downstairs, Neon comes out of the bathroom wearing one of Joel’s white T-shirts with a checked shirt. His face is pale and his hands tremble as he pulls the door shut behind him.
“Are you OK?” I ask, handing him the phone. “Did you see something again?”
His face looks the way it did the day we saw the pink rabbit appear on the street outside school, and he barely seems to notice the phone in his hand. He licks his lips, searching for the words, but before he can answer Joel appears in the hallway with his bag over his shoulder.
“Are you both ready? I’ve got to open the shop by ten.”
Neon nods and rushes out to the car. I lock up behind me, then hurry to catch up, but Neon climbs into the back seat before I can ask any more questions. Tilly’s family’s farm is up in the hills behind the village, five minutes from our place by car. Neon talks non-stop as Joel drives, babbling about anything his eye lands on: crows, some purple flowers by the roadside, a cloud shaped like a croissant. He’s always talkative, but today I get the feeling he’s trying to distract me. He saw something back at our house. Something strange and probably fictional.
Tilly is waiting for us at the end of the lane when we reach the farm. Bella is with her and starts jumping up and barking excitedly as she sees Neon. He grabs his backpack, thanks Joel for the lift and letting him stay, and jumps out to join Tilly and the dog.
When I go to give him a hug, he whispers in my ear, “There’s, uh, something in your bathroom. Try not to panic when you see it, OK? We’ll figure out what to do with it this afternoon.”
