"Uh, what?" (Y/N) responded. So eloquent, she ridiculed herself.

"The book?" Elise asked again, raising her eyebrows impatiently, as if it were normal to see books that nobody except her sister could see

"You can see it?" (Y/N) threw it at her sister to see if it would go through her like it went through Hugh, but instead Elise caught it and ran away with it.

"Yeah I can, weirdo. What's it about?" Elise laughed while bolting through the woods.

"Give it back!" (Y/N) panicked a little since she had no clue what was inside it. What if it held the secrets to the universe? She certainly couldn't trust her younger sister with it.

Speeding up, she tried her best not to get stuck in the mud with her rain boots. After darting behind a tree, Elise giggled and (Y/N) finally caught up to her, slowing down as she neared the clearing around the cairn.

Looking behind the tree, (Y/N) realized that her sister had snuck away. Frustratedly, she spun around, trying to listen for footsteps or movement in the trees. Instead, she heard a gasp and a "whoa!" from her sister, echoing against the stone walls of the cairn.

"Get out of there!" (Y/N) demanded annoyedly, huffing and walking inside when she didn't hear a response. "We both need to get home before Mom and Dad realize we're gone!"

"Too late!" Elise yelled from outside. From the sunny, past version of Cairnholm. From inside the loop.

Stepping into the dry forest clearing, (Y/N) saw her sister dangling the book in front of her and standing with a big smirk on her face. (Y/N) realized that this book really might be as world-changing as her grandfather had claimed.

<><><><><><>

After capturing her sister and reclaiming the book, (Y/N) walked out of the cairn, dragging her sister along by the arm.

"Let goooo," Elise whined, refusing to answer any of her sister's questions, like "Why did you go in there?" and "How long have Mom and Dad known I've been gone?"

"Why are you so freaked out about a stupid book anyway? Is it secretly your diary or something?" Elise taunted.

"No, it's just brand new and I don't want you to ruin it," (Y/N) retorted.

"Where did you even get it? The library? You know we're leaving soon and you probably won't be finishing it," Elise said, using her best know-it-all voice.

"How soon?" (Y/N) grabbed her by the shoulders. "Did our parents tell you anything?"

"Ask them yourself!" her sister stuck her tongue out petulantly, pointing at their parents' angry faces in one of the Priest Hole's foggy upper windows.

     Facepalming dramatically, (Y/N) let go of her sister, quietly opening the bar door and wiping her wet rain boots on the bristly welcome mat before trudging up the stairs, thankful that it was early enough before lunch that not many customers would be hearing their argument. She tossed her book on her bed and walked down the hall and into their parents' room, frowning harder when she saw their faces.

"What exactly do you think you're doing, (Y/N)?" her mother began.

Trying not to sigh brattily, (Y/N) responded. "Look, I'm sorry that I didn't leave you a note or whatever like Jacob did, but I don't really appreciate being punished for something that was your fault. And who even gets grounded on vacation?? If you had just been honest with me, we wouldn't be having this issue. And besides, I was with Jacob, so it's not like I would've been in a bunch of danger," she finished. So much for not sounding bratty.

Instead of yelling back like (Y/N) had expected, her mother sighed and looked down at the floor while her father continued to pretend he wasn't there. "Look, maybe I took a bit of the pain of your grandfather's death out on you, but I still have expected you to be more mature about all this. I'm not going to keep you grounded, but I need you to let us know where you're going and who you're with, and if you wouldn't mind, I'd like you to let us know before you plan to go off, so this way we can adjust our plans and continue to sightsee as a family. After all, this whole trip was about history, and wherever you and your sister have been, I'm pretty sure you haven't been doing much learning," she smiled weakly. "Well, I guess we should get ready for lunch, so please change out of your muddy clothes and I'll find somewhere to wash them."

(Y/N) stood there with her mouth open for a second, then quickly walked out of the room to get changed.

"Oh, and (Y/N)?" her mother added as an afterthought.

"What?" (Y/N) thought she was getting off easy.

"I just want you to know that we plan to leave on Sunday."

    "Oh." Phew.

Only 5 days, (Y/N) thought to herself.

<><><><><><>

    After a late lunch, (Y/N) sat back on her bed, checking that her sister wasn't  around before shoving the book under her pillowcase. She read a bit of her Series of Unfortunate Events before the temptation to open Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children became too strong. She paced around on the floor while deciding whether or not she should open it. Return the book to the author, or the story will be lost, (Y/N) remembers her grandfather telling her.

I know why Grandpa Abe wanted me to steal the book, but what makes it so special? Does it hold all the information about every peculiar ever? And why couldn't the others see it? It must not be visible because of my peculiarity, or else how did it appear for my sister? Can it bring normals through? What about a random villager from the loop? Can only people in the loop not see it? What if I try to talk to Millard about it and he can't understand me? What if it makes the world explode? Did Elise read any of it? Is she peculiar? What if the book is like a key to bring normals into loops?

    Since she couldn't bring herself to open the book for fear of repeating some scene from Raiders of the Lost Arc, she decided to bring the book to the only other person who did know about it. She pulled out the book, knocked on her sister's door, waited to be invited in, closed the door and quietly made her way over to Elise, who sat on her bed texting.

    "Why are you acting like you're about to tell me that you're secretly a vampire?" Elise asked, blowing a bubble with some gum that she had apparently been hiding from (Y/N) all this time.

    "Shut up. This is important," (Y/N) hissed. "And who are you texting, anyway?" she stalled. "Those people you were hanging out with all last week?"

    "Um, yeah," she responded sketchily.

    "Okay. Well anyway, I need to know if you noticed anything weird about this book?" (Y/N) asked curiously, holding it up.

    "What book?" Elise smirked after a moment. "Haha. Your face though," she paused, rolling her eyes at (Y/N)'s unamused expression. "Um no, why?"

    "Well, how did you get through the loop?" (Y/N) implored.

    "What?" she asks, half listening. After few moments, she seemed to realize they were in the middle of talking and added "Ugh, get out. I'm having a very important conversation right now, and it isn't with you."

    Scowling, (Y/N) stomped back into her room, tossing the book back onto her bed and staring at it. She wondered how long it was supposed to take for things like this to wither into dust out of the loop, but she decided that she would rather not find out without checking inside. Of course, just as she reached for the smooth cover, she heard a commotion downstairs in the bar.

The normal murmur of conversation exploded into a chaotic jumble of inquiries about steaks or something of that nature. Tiptoeing to the edge of the staircase, (Y/N) eavesdropped cautiously, hearing her uncle ask "What'd he order?"

"Coupla steaks," Kev answered him, continuing with the details.

When everyone starting speculating about why he asked for them raw, (Y/N) decided to walk back into her room and contemplate those same questions. Raw steaks. Why? It somehow struck her as similar to the dead sheep phenomenon.

    Before she could ponder any more, the wooden stairs creaked as her cousin ascended to the top floor. Her parents stopped him to talk for a bit, and (Y/N) took that opportunity to take the book out from where she'd stashed it. She held her breath for a second, but decided she'd rather not stall for any longer and opened it up a crack.

It was empty.

But just for a second. Suddenly, words start writing themselves on the page. (Y/N) flipped backwards, opening to the beginning.

    "As the boat rode (or bounced, in her opinion) over the open sea, the water threw droplets on (Y/N)'s face, and the wind whipped her hair. Though the air was warm..."

    Shocked, she flipped to another page.

    "Refocused, she quietly searched the shelves, which were fortunately well-dusted (obviously she wanted to leave without a trace), and tried to remember what her grandfather had told her. She needed to remember..."

And another.

    "Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children?! Now that is capable of changing everything, she thought excitedly.

    Nearly in shock, she lifted the book off the shelf.

  '(Y/N)? Where's (Y/N)?' One of the children was right outside the doorway. As they walked in, (Y/N) tried to slide past, but there was no fooling the expert..."

    Frantically, (Y/N) skimmed through the rest, landing back on the now half-written page.

    (Y/N) slammed the book shut and threw it across the room, trying not to hyperventilate, yet too shocked to do anything but.

    "Frantically, (Y/N) skimmed through the rest, landing back on the now half-written page," the last paragraph had read.

    When (Y/N) finally recovered herself enough to move, she gingerly picked the book back up and shoved it under her mattress, trying so hard to forget about it. When her parents came in to wish her a good night, she tried her best not to sound like she was dying inside until they left.

    10:00. (Y/N) had spent all of five minutes trying to go to sleep before she admitted to herself that it simply wouldn't be possible. Between the fact that she would be leaving her friends soon and the revelation of the book's true nature, (Y/N) just couldn't get over her shock.

    I have to tell Millard, she thought to herself. Maybe not about the book, but at least about our dwindling time together. I can't sleep knowing I have to tell Millard that we're leaving soon.

    As if they were mentally connected, Jake's door opened and the sounds of footsteps descending the stairs echoed through the quiet hall. (Y/N) still hadn't gotten into her nightclothes, so she threw on a coat and boots that weren't in the wash and hastily snuck outside behind her cousin. She thought momentarily about leaving her parents a note, but decided they wouldn't be missing her at this hour. Oops, already broke our agreement and it hasn't even been 24 hours.

    The cool night air was illuminated by the bright moon, and (Y/N) waited until Jake was out of sight before making her way to the cairn. Upon approaching the base of the hill, she noticed the little tabby was back again, weaving between her legs as she walked.

    Oh look, it's Weirdo with the Binoculars again, (Y/N) noted as she reached the hilltop. Why is he only ever out at dark? Is he allergic to sunlight or something?

Turning invisible for a second to hide from him, (although he'd probably already seen her, she hadn't used her powers in a while and wanted to get in some practice) she crossed into the woods and through the other side of the loop, where the weather was a lot less damp. To her surprise, a pale face greeted her when she arrived on the other side.

"AHHH! MILLARD! What are you doing?!" (Y/N) shrieked, probably waking up the whole village.

"Oh, uh. I'm so sorry (Y/N), it's just...I saw Jacob coming and I assumed you would return as well. T-That's all," he stumbled backward, nearly dropping the lantern he was holding.

While (Y/N) caught her breath, she noticed that Millard held two leatherbound notebooks in the crook of his elbow. "What are those for?" she inquired.

"Oh, well, I was hoping that you would like to assist me in my documentation of the activities of the brown hare family living under a cluster of shrubs," he explained in his most scholarly voice.

"Oh, well in that case, I'd be delighted," (Y/N) held out her hand and Millard took it, guiding her through the forest until they reached a tree.

"You wouldn't mind climbing, would you?" Millard asked (Y/N) apologetically. "I usually watch from above in order to prevent the animals from being disturbed."

"It's alright, as long as you show me which branches to avoid and where I should sit," (Y/N) laughed.

"Alright then," Millard hoisted himself up onto the lowest branch, climbing deftly upwards until he perched on a long branch not too far from the forest floor. (Y/N) followed suit, her feet and hands moving in a left/right pattern until she was close enough that Millard could take her hand and pull her up.

"Whoa!" (Y/N) exclaimed, looking up at the sky. They were situated on the coast of the island, and a lighthouse beamed tirelessly, occasionally breaking up the view of the Milky Way and other constellations. The soothing sound of waves breaking contrasted with the few squawking seagulls.

The cat, which (Y/N) had forgotten about until that moment, leapt up next to them, only needing two bounds to get from the ground to the tree branch. "This island is truly magical," Millard announced, petting the tabby's orange fur. "If you would only stay, we could do so much more together," he insisted.

"About that," (Y/N) pursed her lips. "My family..." she paused for just a second. "We're leaving in five days."

"But, (Y/N)!" Millard protested.

"Please!" (Y/N) interrupted, throwing her head back to look up at the sky. "Not now. Not this moment. There's enough drama going on as it is."

    Millard huffed and handed her a notebook and pencil. He quickly explained the system, preparing (Y/N) and extinguishing the lantern just in time for the mother hare to stick her head out from under the bushes and sniff around for danger. (Y/N) scribbled her notes hastily, noting the time of each incident. She had so many questions, but she didn't really feel like interrupting the silence, so she watched as the three leverets hopped out of the hole and after their mother.

    They scampered about, tripping over each other and leaving prints in the mud until their mother's ears stood up straight, sensing something. The children stopped, clumsily falling over each other as they awaited instruction from their mother.

    (Y/N) tried her hardest to do the formatting correctly, but after a glance at Millard's notebook, she knew she had definitely made some mistakes. However, when the rabbits finally hopped out of sight, Millard checked over her work and didn't seem to mind.

    "Are you positive that I didn't mess up?!" (Y/N) demanded.

    "Yes!" Millard insisted.

    "Really?" (Y/N) raised an eyebrow.

    "Yes—no. But it's alright! I just wanted to spend some time together," he admitted guiltily.

    "You just wanted to...hang out?" (Y/N) asked, taken aback.

    "Well, if that's what you call it," Millard huffed impatiently.

    "Well, o-okay," (Y/N) stammered. "It was r-really nice! It was enjoyable watching the hares without disturbing them. It's quite interesting how animals behave in their natural environment as opposed to...when...they're..." (Y/N) tried to finish, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to concentrate because his face was getting closer to hers and it was a really nice night and his freckles reminded her of the stars and their numerous possibilities and—

    They kissed.

    (Y/N) blinked, sucking in a breath. Before she could say something or react any more, they heard voices from nearby the lighthouse. Sharing a glance, the two returned to the ground as quickly as possible and lay on their stomachs in order to peep over a small scattering of rocks. Emma and Jake sat on some sort of sandbar, talking loudly.

    "Oh," Millard scoffed. "It's just Emma. She's probably—" (Y/N) put a finger over his lips so she could hear them.

    "—they don't know where to find us. That and they can't enter loops. So were safe on the island—but we can't leave."

    "But Victor did."

    "Damn her," Millard cursed lowly. "She told him! She shouldn't—he shouldn't—"

    "What?" (Y/N) asked, super confusedly.

    "He's not supposed to—"

    But Emma and Jacob kept talking, and while Millard listened, (Y/N) came to a realization. If the hollowgast came for Victor and for me, it must be a matter of time before another comes. This place is popular for monsters; next it could be a whole army! What if the book has been attracting them this whole time? No, but—

    Just as (Y/N) began to open her mouth and get Millard's attention, a blue butterfly landed on top of his head, and the cat leapt at it, trying to catch it.

"Aargh!" Millard grunted as the tabby tumbled over him, and despite everything, (Y/N) struggled to contain her laughter. And as if one interruption hadn't been enough, (Y/N) heard the sound of bees buzzing anxiously, and a frantic Hugh shouted from somewhere along the shore.

    "Something's happened! You've got to come back with us!"

Thanks for reading! Shoutout to 1-800-ravenclaw for guessing part of the book's power! What would you guys like to see in the next chapters?