Seeing Aleks Part One (Short Story)

Instructions

I woke up to the sound of someone breathing next to me. I was the only one in my room, and the person in my bed wasn't real. I can see them, but no one else is able to. Schizophrenia does that to people, you know, makes them see things that aren't really there. My hallucination has a name, and his name is Aleks. I groaned and sat up in bed, throwing off the blanket and standing up. I wore nothing, though it's not like Aleks hasn't seen it all before, he can't help but be intrusive. People with schizophrenia aren't supposed to enforce their hallucinations as real, but Aleks is my best friend. I look in the mirror, at my slim, scrawny frame and small swells on my chest. I had long, straight black hair and boring brown eyes. Why did Aleks get all the good looks and not me? I saw Aleks sit up behind me through the mirror and he rubbed his eyes, groggy from whatever trance he goes into when he sleeps. Do hallucinations dream? "You look fine, stop worrying about it," he said, noticing my furrowed brows. I relax at his assurance, he was always there to counter my negative thoughts. It wasn't like I could hide them from him, they both come from my head. Him and my thoughts have to cross paths at some point, right? At least, that's how I see it. I sigh and go to my closet so I can get dressed and ready for school. I find a loose light pink blouse and some jean shorts, tugging them both on. "How should I do my hair? Up? Down?" I asked over my shoulder to Aleks. He came up behind me, running his hand through my hair to hold it up, admiring what it looks like out my face. "Up, wear it up." he answered. His hands fell to his side and he sat down on my bed, watching me intently. I smiled, then I remembered he was just an hallucination. His touch, no matter how real it felt, wasn't real. It saddened me and he noticed. Aleks sprawled out on my bed, laying on his back and staring at the ceiling. "I just want to tell you that I feel plenty real. I can be real to only you, and that's all that matters, isn't it?" he commented, overhearing my thoughts. I nodded wordlessly and quickly tugged my hair up into a ponytail. I contemplated applying some makeup, but Aleks interrupted and said, "You look just fine without it, no need." That was easy for him to say, he looks perfect. Tousled blond hair, sparkling blue eyes, sharp jaw line, flat stomach, he had it all. A girls perfect vision of what a man should look like. Too bad he could be nothing more then a vision. Aleks raised and eyebrow and snorted at that thought. "Too bad for you or for other girls?" he asked. I rolled my eyes, it was a bit of both. Mom called me downstairs and I glanced at Aleks. She was gonna ask me to take my meds, and I would go through the routine of popping them, then spitting them out the second she left the room. I went downstairs, Aleks sliding down the railing, reaching the bottom before me. He went in the kitchen to confirm what I suspected. When I walked into the kitchen, I saw my pills sitting on the table, next to a glass of water. "Take them before you forget, the bus gets here soon so I hope you're ready for school," she warned. I nodded and grabbed the pills she expected me to take. I popped them into my mouth, slipping them under my tongue, and taking a sip of water. My mother left the room, satisfied, and as soon as I was out of her field of vision, I spit them out into the trashcan. I was supposed to be taking this new medication to help stop my hallucinations, but they worked too well sometimes and got rid of Aleks. I don't know what I would do without him helping me throughout my day, so I never took them after that first time. Plus, they made me super sleepy and it was hard to get through the day without passing out. I washed out my mouth with another swig of water and went to the fridge. I grabbed a bottle of orange juice and used it to properly wash out the bitter taste of the pills in my mouth. Aleks was looking at the drawings on the fridge, the ones I made when I was little. It has always been just me and mom, but in some of the drawings, there was a small blond boy holding my hand instead of my mother. It has always amused Aleks that he has always been in the back of my mind, even when I was young. I don't remember ever seeing him when I was that little, but he always seemed to be there in my mind. As far as my mom knew, I grew out of it and Aleks hasn't crossed my mind since I turned 8. I hallucinated for the first time when I was 13, but it was only voices, whispers more like. On my 14th birthday, I woke up to Aleks laying in my bed. To be truthful, he scared the crud out of me when I first started seeing him. (Continued below)