(Atem X reader) The Necklace

It

It. It was just, sitting there. Quiet and unmoving. How it could just be there, I did not know. I remember when I first encountered it, the memories surrounding my train of thought. It was a Tuesday afternoon, around 15:00 (military time, don't judge). I was walking around town, when I first noticed it, shimmering, out of the corner of my eyes. It had instantly caught my attention. I briskly walked into the store to get a better look. It was an antique shop, with tons of knick knacks and thingamabobs from different countries around the world. Once I entered, I lost myself in the maze of ancient relics. I forgot about the purpose of entering the store until the store attendant spoke up. "See anything you like?" She looked like she was close to her 30's and about 5'2". She had graying hairs and bags under her eyes that looked like they could carry groceries, the heavy stuff like milk and detergent. Her eyes were shining amongst other things, making her lively demeanor seem like you were reaquainting yourself with an old friend.

"I'm not sure," I stuttered, truly lost and possibly confused. I wonder how she acquired all these relics in abundance.

"Can I make a friendly suggestion then?" she asked, making her eyes sparkle all the more with a certain passion for these kinds of things.

"I don't mind," I said. As long as I could afford it, I really didn't. Her voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Please then, if I could lead the way,"she gently gestured me towards some shelves, leading me towards my inevitable fate. "Close your eyes," she hummed in content, as if she were a small child wanting to give her mother a surprise. I closed my eyes, and once I did, I felt as if a light weight was placed around my neck.

"And now you can open them!" she exclaimed happily. I opened my eyes. Nothing felt different."This way!" She smiled a genuine smile when she pulled me towards a mirror. When I finally got over the rush of the act, I gasped in amazement. It was an ancient Egyptian necklace!!! It took my breath away. It had an intricate design, for a pyramid that is, with the eye of horus coming off one of the faces of the pyramid.

"How much is the necklace?"

~~~

At around 17:00 hours, I was wandering back towards my home, feeling really glad about the purchase I had made. The pendant seemed to pulse with a soothing familiarity that I had gotten accustomed to rather quickly. That's when I saw it a second time. I had felt the presence of someone watching me, their stare focused on my back. I didn't think of it as much, since I was feeling really good about myself, but I had glimpsed behind my back just to make sure no one was following me home when I caught the slightest bit of it, making an escape. I made my way back home with a slight unease. Once I entered,I noticed it was as dark and quiet as a still tomb. I searched for the light switch, going into a small state of panic when they suddenly turned on.

"SURPRISE!!!"

"WHAT THE HELL!!!" I screamed in fright, my heart racing a million miles per second. I had to grab onto something to calm myself.

"Oh, it's just you guys!" I voiced my thoughts out loud," I thought I was gonna die!" It was my amigos, Chris, Rebecca, and Duke. Ugh, I probably looked like a ditz at the moment.

"You silly goose! It's like you forgot about your BIRTHDAY," teased Chris, lightly hitting my shoulder.

"I-I didn't! It's just that I wasn't expecting to get jumped in MY OWN HOUSE!!" I rubbed my shoulder where he hit me, pouting dramatically.

"Welp, we're sorry. We didn't mean to, y'know, scare you," Rebecca muttered guiltily, "It was a simple misunderstanding."

"Don't beat yourself up about it, Bec. It's alright!" Duke reassured her."Plus, now that we're all here, we can start the party!"

"Oh yeah! Wait! I have to get ready first! You guys caught me at an awkward time. I'm gonna change before we start if that's okay," I spouted out to my friends, sprinting toward my bedroom, locking the door behind me. I flopped on the bed, the act of running tiring me out.

After a minute or two of just lying down and procratinaiting, I reluctantly got up, going towards my windows to close the curtains so I could change. Once I had finished changing, the lights blew out. I got a notification on my phone not that soon after saying there was a blackout. Apparently, the electric company was going to get it fixed in the next twelve hours and charge everyone a little less on their electric bills.

"Great, just as I was going to get this party started, that party had to stop," I exclaimed rather sarcastically."Well, there's no use in complaining, I'm going to take a nap." I was touching the necklace before my stress went away miraculously. " My friends can wait a couple of minutes," I yawned. Suddenly, I had blacked out as well.

~~~

I had awoken, to my dismay,with a really bad headache. My head was throbbing with an unusual pain, probably because its hard for things to piss me off. To my surprise, I was missing my necklace. I stumbled out of bed, searching for it. "Where could it be? I just got it today, after all. How could I possibly lose it!?" I muttered to myself, thinking out loud. I already felt really attached to the artifact, and losing it was not one of the things I would expect from myself. I started to search frantically for it, my heart pulsing rapidly. Why am I freaking out so much? It's just a necklace right? It's not like my life depended on it or anything, so why panic? If only I knew how wrong I was, because at that moment, it appeared before my very eyes.

I never had got a clear look at it. Now that I was looking at it, I realized what it was.

"Oh. My. Various. Egyptian. Gods." I was petrified. It, no... HE was wearing my necklace around his translucent neck. He's a very beautiful man, in the mysterious sort of way, considering what he is. He looked to be around 5'6" with a slender, yet regal, build and somewhere around his early twenties. His skin appears to be tan but then again it could be a trick of the light emitting from his body.

I was shaking from the sudden drop in temperature, struggling to keep in my body heat. The light coming from his body softened to a dim glow, allowing me to look him in the face. His face was the perfect blend of maturity and youth, his eyes sparkling with a childlike wonder, staring into mine like he was looking into my very soul, judging my heart against the feather of truth with his curious, crimson gaze.

"Why are you here?" I whispered, scared to speak out because of the fear making itself at home in my bones.

"Why did you have my puzzle?" he asked me, matching the softness of my voice, yet still making me shiver as he spoke.

Great, I'm getting nervous because a ghost asked me a question.*sweatdrop*

I opened my mouth to speak but my throat instantly dried up. I didn't trust myself with words because of it.

"Why were you following me?" I finally questioned him after an eternity of silence.

"I-I don't know the reason myself ," he stuttered with concern hinting in his voice," I didn't mean to cause you any distress. I'm sorry for intruding in your private life," he apologized, looking down at his hands. His touch was warm, yet gentle, as he took my hands and placed them on the left side of his chest.

The side of his heart.

He then gently whispered into my ear, his breath hitting it just right to give my body tingles.

"Can you forgive me?"

I felt a faint pulse in his chest. My eyes widened from shock.

He has a heartbeat.

I honestly didn't know what to believe anymore.