You're my Imaginary Friend (O/O Closed)

Hello there! Looking for another rp, maybe partially subconsciously inspired by Moonknight.

Character B is Character A's imaginary friend, but B doesn't know it. They go through everything together, but B just doesn't understand their place in A's life. Character A goes through some misfortunate relationships, crippling stresses of school, and he just learns to live life with Character B as his constant companion.

I would be character A! Let me know if you'd like to join!

Me? Involved in something that's not cripplingly angsty? Why yes.

Count me in!

Lovely! Here's a character sheet!

Name:
Age: 17

-Physical Features- (If you want to change this to paragraph form, that's fine too!)
Eye Color:
Hair Color:
Hair Style:
Skin Tone:
Body Type:
Height:
Identifying Marks:
Anything Else I'm Forgetting:

Typical Clothing Style:
Other:

Name: Daniel (Dan) Fletcher
Age: 17

-Physical Features- (If you want to change this to paragraph form, that's fine too!)
Eye Color: Dark Brown
Hair Color: Chocolate Brown
Hair Style: Untamable curls in a faux hawk
Skin Tone: Dark tan
Body Type: Average, very square
Height: 6'2"
Identifying Marks: Scar on the side of his bottom lip. He tells everyone it was just a "bad fishing trip"
Anything Else I'm Forgetting:

Typical Clothing Style: Simple dark colored t-shirts or sometimes a tan sweater, paired with black/navy/khaki pants.
Other: He's pretty mellow, more of a listener and observer. Hands are home in pockets. Musically gifted, he's a wonderful singer.

Name: Rodney "Roddy" James
Age: 17

-Physical Features- l
Eye Color: Pale green with gold framed glasses and darkened bags
Hair Color: Strawberry blonde
Hair Style: Straight but very thick, shoulder length and usually pulled back into a loose bun
Skin Tone: Deathly pale and covered in freckles
Body Type: Very skinny limbs with a bit of squish in his torso and face
Height: 5'8"
Identifying Marks: Has a gap in his teeth and a chipped front tooth from a skateboarding accident
Anything Else I'm Forgetting:
Typical Clothing Style: Light academia everything although he tends to keep it on the comfy side
Other: His lips are eternally chapped and he never stops picking at them because of it. He's a terrible liar, his face always gives him away. Sticks out his tongue when he's concentrating. Bookworm and nerd to the highest degree.

(Awesome, I'll post a starter in a bit. Also, the age is loosely 17, I figured we would time skip forward and backward as needed for flashbacks and moving the story along)

(Yeah, I figured that 17 may be the age he presents as but he may actually be much older since he doesn't remember when he died)

(Is he dead?? I think I may have wrongfully convinced myself he was a ghost that just hangs around this one guy. The prompt literally says imaginary friend whoops I'm dumb 😂)

(He is not dead, he is imaginary that moment when you realize you've been spelling "imaginery" wrong haha. But he doesn't know he's imaginary, to his knowledge he is just like everyone else (though everyone except Dan just doesn't talk to him). Like he might be perplexed when Dan just straight up ignores him when they're around other people, and how people just don't acknowledge him.)
(Also that starter is still on the way, I just took forever to get my laptop up haha)

(Ahhhh, that makes much more sense. Of course I made it angsty out of nowhere, why wouldn't I)

Daniel Fletcher was well aware that most of his peers didn't have imaginary friends. Not most- all of his peers did not have a constant companion like he had. He had "met" his friend probably more than a decade ago, and ever since, there was always that presence. Even when Dan ignored him, his imaginary friend was like a blurred figure in the corner of his eyes and a consistent buzz of talk and communication. Once, Daniel had even tried to forget him, to block him out of his mind, but since then he had come to accept that Rodney James would always be a part of his life.

"Alright now, have a good long weekend. Don't forget the reading analysis homework, we will be having an AP practice test when you return on Tuesday," Mr. Lang said with the wave of his hand. It was enough for everyone in the class to start packing up the binders and folders and such, and then begin filing out of the classroom. Dan began to do the same, swiping up his scribbled-on papers from the desk and chucking them into his backpack, only sparring his imaginary friend a glance.

Rodney James had no idea he wasn't real. He'd known Dan his entire life and just thought he was his roommate. He couldn't remember life before Dan because it didn't exist but he simply thought he'd forgotten it. He was ignored by everyone except for Dan, unacknowledged like he didn't exist. But he didn't mind, he only needed his one friend. That was enough for him.

Roddy popped up from his seat and settled by Dan's side like he always did. "Lang skipped over me again. I swear, it's like I'm invisible!" He laughed, throwing his hands up. "You'll let me see your reading, won't ya Danny?"

Dan's eyes danced around- thankfully no one was in earshot, so he murmured softly, "Maybe Lang doesn't like how much of a nerd you are." A small grin feathered over his lips, but he quickly hid it away. "Who said I'm going to be doing the reading?" He murmured, once again so quiet it was almost imperceivable. He shrugged his backpack onto his shoulder and made his way to the door without pausing for Roddy. The faster he got to his car, the better. Dan was itching to get home, as always. His parents were always gone at work until about eight o'clock, sometimes later. They co-owned a profitable company that was a good enough distance away to sometimes warrant just getting a hotel for the night rather than making the drive home. Dan knew he should be grateful, after all, his parents would be paying for his college with the money they made, and they never cared whenever he ordered a pizza or snuck a couple beers out of their stock.

Roddy squawked in offense. "I am not a nerd! Shush you." He pouted before trailing behind Dan. "And you should do the reading, you're the one who's taking the test, not me." He huffed as he ran to catch up with Dan. "Slow down! For God's sake, it's like you're trying to run away from me."

Dan rolled his eyes and chose silence in favor of keeping the attention away from himself as he weaved through the school halls. The writing club was meeting up there, the wrestling club was walking down to the weight room together over there, Anna and her friends were chatting over by those lockers… Daniel put his focus to the world outside as he quickly stepped out through a side exit.

The smell of hyacinths and daffodils wafted through the air on a light spring breeze. "I'm gonna stop at the corner store on the way home," Daniel said, fishing for his keys in his pocket. "I need to restock the snacks and-"

"Danny!" A familiar voice, sweet and soft like a summer rain, graced Dan's ears. He turned immediately to see Anna Witherstone at the school exit they had just walked out of. "Come to my party this weekend! I'll text you the invite!" And just as quickly as she appeared, she went back into the school presumably with her friends. Anna was easily one of the most popular, most lovely ladies attending Redtree High. They had exchanged phone numbers a good couple weeks back when they had worked on a physics assignment together, but Daniel never suspected it would lead to an invitation to a party.

Roddy's face burst into a giant smile, bouncing on his toes as he laughed. "Look at you! Moving up in the world with girls, I'm so proud." He sniffed and wiped away a fake tear. "And Anna! Anna, of all people! How lucky could you get!" He sighed, leaning back on his heels. "Wish I could get a girl like that but nope. They all just pass me by. High school man, it's rough on a nerd."

Dan shot him a glare -albeit there was no real anger in it- as he said softly, "That was just an invitation. Nothing more, Roddy." Of course, a relationship was an attractive idea, but people weren't ideas. There was no point in future tripping either, Dan knew that he wasn't exactly the star football player or the academic wizard- he was the quiet guy in the back who sometimes talked to himself. Anna was nice, really nice, and it was a thought that Dan entertained before. But Anna wasn't a thought, she was a person, and a person who was hardly interested in Daniel until a couple weeks ago. He shook the thought from his head as he tossed his bag into the backseat of his grey hatchback before sliding into the driver's seat.

Roddy just smiled knowingly, his face innocent but his eyes anything but. He hopped into the passenger's seat, not noticing how the door didn't actually open or close when he moved. "Ah, come on, I know you're thinking the same thing. You can't lie to me. I've known you for too long, Danny. Besides! What reason would she have not to talk to you? You're nice, you're funny, you're kinda dumb but everyone has their faults." He chuckled, ticking off each one of his points on his fingers.

(Since it's imaginary, he can "imagine" interacting with things on a very basic level. Like he could imagine opening the door, but he couldn't, say, put a dent in the car by kicking it)

"Pfft, I am not funny," Dan said with a scoff, finally at ease in the car out of public view. He put the car into gear and made his way towards home. "I'm not getting my hopes up. I mean… I might -might- ask her out, but it's up to her to give me a shot." Dan shrugged, running a hand through his unkempt curls before settling his finger on the scar on his lip. A girl in his life… Dan didn't know impact that would have on his relationship with Roddy. Would he be able to just ignore him forever? Roddy was always such a constant in his life, even when Dan did ignore the imaginary friend in classes and group settings, it just felt wrong.

"That's the part you had a problem with?" He snorted before relaxing with a smile. "Ah come on, give yourself a chance! You might finally get a girlfriend after…way too long!" He laughed, leaning back in his seat. "She's bound to like you, why else would she invite you? Actually, don't answer that. There's a lot of reasons why she would invite you and not all of them are positive so let's think on the bright side for this one."

He stuck his tongue out at Roddy, an abnormal expression from Dan given how tame he usually was, and waved him off with a hand. "You're always so…" Dan waved his hand around again, as if conjuring a spell. He finally settled for a combination of a sigh and a laugh. "I don't even know. Talkative, I swear, I don't know why someone like me would be getting attention opposed to someone like you." Daniel had tried. He tried to think up a wonderful little fairytale life with a maiden at the end for his constant companion, but it felt out of his control. He felt attached to Roddy, and there was no perceivable way to 'unimagine' him.

"Exactly! It's like I don't exist. I'm not even on their radar. And it's certainly not like I don't make myself known. I mean, I do talk quite a bit." He sighed with a laugh. "Ah well, I guess high school isn't for me. Much like every other type of schooling we've been forced through. Another year as the invisible kid. You'd tell me if I was actually invisible, wouldn't you?" Roddy turned to Dan, eyes wide and innocent in his question even though he had no idea what he was truly asking.

Daniel felt a twinge of guilt in his heart. He didn't know why; it shouldn't matter when Roddy was made up. "You're not invisible." You're just imaginary. That wasn't something Dan could tell him though. Roddy was his best friend- no, an imagination couldn't be his best friend. Maybe he just didn't have a best friend.

He shook off the trail of thoughts as he pulled into the corner store parking lot. It was small, run by a sweet couple who lived down the road from him. "C'mon, people are dumb. Food is not," Dan said with his signature small smile as he exited his vehicle before walking inside.

Roddy rolled his eyes with a smile, getting out the car and popping to Dan's side. "Of course they are. Glad to know you know I exist. If I've got you, that's all I really need." If only he knew that was all he would ever have. But he was blissfully ignorant, just going along right by Dan's side like he had his entire life.

Dan hummed at the warmth that filled his heart from that affirmation, but then turned his attention to the food in the store. He swiped up chips, granola bars, an energy drink, and some other junk food before making his way to the counter. Johnny, the owner's son, was managing the store today. "A can of wintergreen pouches too," Dan said softly as he gently dumped his items onto the counter.

"Can't do, man. Pops caught me selling underage last week, threatened to fire me this time. He doesn't want to get fined again," Johnny told him with a small scowl as he began scanning in the items.

Dan frowned and gave Johnny a knowing look. "You know I'm not a cop." The man in his mid-twenties had sold to him plenty of times before, this shouldn't be any different.

"Sorry bud. You shouldn't be using this stuff anyways, kid," Johnny told him as he held up a can of Grizzly before once again sliding it behind the counter. "Total is twenty-two, thirty-five."

"Johnny," Dan started, but the man gave him a look, and Dan pulled out his wallet and paid for his things. He could just dig around in his stash later and hopefully there would be a forgotten not empty can somewhere.

Roddy frowned at Dan's insistence. "Y'know, he's right. You're gonna start a habit sooner or later and I don't want to lose my best friend to a drinking problem." He chastised, folding his arms over his chest. He didn't like Dan's drinking, never did. It made him feel weird. Mostly because the alcohol affected Dan's brain and therefore his imagination, making him more susceptible to warping Roddy's existence.

(Grizzly is a form of tobacco)

"I already got a 'habit'," Dan muttered in response, only a bit of snark in his voice, as they walked out the door and back to the car with a frown. It wasn't like his parents cared, heck, it wasn't like he cared. He could handle tobacco, so there was no reason not to. Dan had handled much worse, and he was almost eighteen anyways. He could make his own decisions and face his own consequences.

(Oh, whoops 😅
Ah well, has the same effect)

"That doesn't change my point, Dan. It's a bad habit for you to have and I don't like how it makes you act. It changes you, makes me feel weird." He huffed, a bit agitated now. "The last thing you need going into life, especially while looking for a girlfriend, is a tobacco addiction. With bad breath and a stained yellow smile, it'll be gross."

Dan made a screwy face at Roddy, teeth barred playfully as he slipped into the car. "Do you honestly think I'll make it to that point in life where I would face the retributions?" He asked, only half joking while he put the car into gear and started on the way home. "I mean for all we know, I could crash this car and die within the next minute." Dan pointed out, gently turning the wheel back and forth to weave in the lane for emphasis. Daniel had thought about it before, what it would be like to die in a car crash. It could be fast and painless and getting smashed by a semi, or it could be bleeding out waiting for someone to come find him in a ditch. He supposed it didn't matter, it would be out of his control anyways.