Reality

6

Hiding Miles from my family was hard enough without him whining about food constantly. "Jasper I'm hungry!"

"You're a fictional character, you survive off of imagination, not food."

"Well imagine some food for me then, preferably pizza." I groaned I frustration, closing the small notebook I was writing in and taking Miles by the wrist. I looked down both directions of the hallway, hoping none of my family would see us, I dragged the boy to the end of the hall, down the stairs and out the front door.

"Jasper, where are we going?"

"To get pizza."

His face lit up with excitement at that, "I love pizza."

"You've never had pizza." I responded.

Half an hour later we were sat on the swing set of my local park, pizza in hand.

"Jasper," He said quietly.

"Miles?" I asked.

"Do you think, maybe you could..." He trailed off and began biting his lip.

"Mhm.." I pressed, oh I wish he wouldn't bite his lip.

"Maybe you could, I don't know, make me less lanky and give me some muscle next time you write?" He asked, I let out a breath and chuckled at him.

"Why would you want that? I think you look great just as you are."

"Yes but, I don't want to be perceived as weak." He said and looked down, still biting his lip.

"You are not weak, you are strong. You look great the way you are and I don't want to change you. Okay?"

"Okay." He said and sighed, giving me a small smile.

"So it's come to my attention," He began after some time of comfortable silence between us. "Being fictional and what-not, I've missed out on basically every child experience." He said loudly with a slice of pizza in his mouth. I looked at him oddly, silently asking for him to clarify.

"For instance, this is the first time I've been on a swing," He motioned at the swing that he was seated on. "I've never kissed a girl." He said "Or a boy, preferably a boy."

I chuckled at that, I hadn't written him with a sexual preference but he had one, like a real, genuine person he had no choice in the matter and I as his creator couldn't choose that for him any less than I could choose for myself

"No, Jasp, seriously," He said with a nickname that made me blush. "I've never been to a concert, read a book, baked a cake, drank alcohol. I haven't even masturbated Jasper!"

I spat out my pizza and fell into a fit of coughs, once I recovered myself I looked up to see Miles blushing furiously.

"Okay, Miles, I can help you with most of those. But the last one, well that ones completely on you." I said and he chuckled awkwardly.

"I just want to be able to see the world, but I'm just a figure of imagination, I can't be normal."