Buckle in and wait for the twist. This one's good.

Date: 5/23/2018

It was a normal day. I was living in a pretty modern, friendly community. A lot like a campus, there were large open areas with cafes and bars, just a minute walk from my front door, and that's where I was. Sitting at the table, I was watching something on the news about a shuttle launch - I could watch them all day, so I was pretty engrossed - and didn't notice the guy sit down beside me until he coughed. I looked over, startled, and he just stares right back. And so began a complicated and uneasy relationship. He seemed to latch onto me. At first, I thought that he was actually quite sweet with how attentive he was, but then he became too much. No matter where I turned, he was there. It was like he was following me. I struggled the most with getting a text from him though, because I never remembered giving him my number. Then came the looks. Whenever I snapped at him, people would stare. Whenever I laughed with him, people would frown. Whenever I was with him, nobody else interacted with him. It took time, but I started to get concerned. Was he even real? Am I going crazy? I have never shown any signs of mental health issues before, and everything else about my life is normal. Right? So, I would test him. Try to force others to respond to him. Involve people in our conversations. And no one would even spare him a glance. So, he's not real. I'm hallucinating. I'm suddenly hallucinating this very detailed, very responsive, very consistent man who drives me up the wall. (Personality-wise, you wanted to laugh, hug him, and punch him all at the same time.) I didn't know what to do. I got specific. "Hey, miss, how many people are sitting at that table right now?" No one ever saw him, emphasising the urgency of getting help for myself. The help came from an unexpected place though. In passing, a researcher from a nearby lab realised I was not 'alone', and we got talking. I ended up - reluctantly - explaining the situation, with my hallucination yammering in my ear and frustrating the hell out of me, and suddenly: "only you can see him? Are you sure that's your problem and not his?" What? That's something out of a film, not real life. Why would I assume he's anything other than a hallucination? But he's nodding, he's agreeing, he want a to show us some things. And So, we end up in a house. This house feels comfortable and lived in, and there are photos of /him/ all around the place. There are books that line up with things he's told me about. The entire box set of that show he would not stop telling me to watch. He knows where the key is. He habitually goes to put his phone onto charge immediately. He's real. And then I woke up which sucks, because I wanted more.