Bending Light

10~Pretty Lights

  (Y/N) opened an eye and looked around. Everything was normal, except the absence of a bomb. Even with her knowledge of time loops, it was still horrifying to watch a bomb fall right in front of her. Children were laughing slightly, and just then, she realized that not everything was normal.

  A bright light that seemed to have appeared out of thin air was hovering above her. It was like a tiny star, its glory contained in the blinding sphere before her. She tried to touch it, and everyone gasped as it converted itself into a tiny spark, sliding lazily down her arm until it reached her shoulder and winked out.

  She turned her arm over, checking for some sign of it. The question What was that!? repeated itself in her head. First she had been scared for her life, and at that moment, she was utterly confused.

How did that happen? Why me? Apparently the other children were thinking that too, because after the silence in which they stood in awe, they began to whisper.

"All right, children," Miss P. shouted. "We have to stay calm and make (Y/N) welcome here. We need to go inside and finish our dinners."

  The children had taken off their masks, so as they walked inside (Y/N) could hear them whispering to each other.

"Miss (Y/L/N), it appears you have found your peculiarity," Miss Peregrine smiled proudly.

"What?! That's my peculiarity?" (Y/N) exclaimed. "No, I'm just a normal person, there has to be another explanation." Honestly, they probably just used some flashlights to prank me, she thinks to herself.

"No, Miss (Y/L/N), there surely is not. Only a peculiar can enter this loop, and we have been searching for you and your cousin for quite a while. Your grandfather was peculiar, and it seems to have been passed down to you."

"H—he was like this?" (Y/N) asked, confused.

"Yes, but his peculiarity was different," Miss Peregrine answered simply. "He knew that you were peculiar, but he obviously never told you."

"Um, so what is my peculiarity, exactly?" (Y/N) finally questioned. Not knowing was killing her.

"I'm not exactly sure, but seeing that Millard is visible to you, and had there was a star above you after the explosion, my best estimate is that it's something to do with light. Light is what makes things visible, after all," Miss P answered.

  Wow, (Y/N) thought. "But why haven't I noticed my peculiarity yet?"

"Most peculiars don't know what they are until they have grown a bit," (Y/N) heard Millard's voice answer her question.

"Mr. Nullings, polite persons don't listen in to others' private conversations!" Miss Peregrine scolded. "You were all told to go and finish your dinners."

"We did, Headmistress. I only came out to notify you that the food is almost cold."

"Well, go on. We shall be there in a minute," she said before turning to (Y/N). "We can finish this conversation after dinner."

She walked inside and (Y/N) followed at a distance until she saw Millard walk out of the bushes.

"You're supposed to be inside," she said, and continued walking.

"Yes, but I needed to ask you a question," he said, running to catch up.

"Okay, what?"

"Your peculiarity. You said you never knew about it, but you were still able to see me. How is that?"

(Y/N) stopped. "You said it yourself, I don't know. I've never known I was peculiar."

"Hmm," he mused. "Have you ever experienced a traumatic incident before?" he inquired suddenly.

"No, why do you ask?"

"Well, perhaps your peculiarity manifested itself because you nearly fell off a cliff; you could see me then. And according to that theory, a bomb exploding in front of you surely could've caused the miniature star," he said, growing more sure with every word.

(Y/N) started walking toward the house again. "So you're saying that I my peculiarity showed up because I was scared."

"No, if it was merely because of that, you would've figured it out long ago. You were distressed—your life was in danger—so your peculiarity surfaced when it thought you needed it."

"Hmm, okay. I still have plenty of questions for you though," she said, reaching the doorway. "We still haven't finished that conversation."

"We will," he said, walking inside before (Y/N) could say another word,