BΣƬЯΛY ΛПD DΣGЯΛDΣ (Various! Creepypasta x F! Reader)

XXXV

You drank a bit more of the tea before Jack decided that you were done. As soon as you set it down he took it along with your plate and put it in the sink. When he quickly returned he helped you up and began leading you away to which Masky didn't even look up. It seemed like you weren't going to get much alone time today, but you weren't comfortable enough around him to complain. Yet at the same time you weren't uncomfortable enough to really mind. He was being nice, and kindness was all you really needed at the moment.

Everything went by in a blur and you soon found yourself back in the gigantic library. The huge shelves towered over both of your forms, each containing at least a thousand books. This library was never not going to be impressive no matter how many times you visited it.

Jack's hand still around your wrist, you were led over to the sitting area. The events of the other day compared to now would make you laugh if you were in a better mood. Right here in this library and in this same spot was where Jack had decided to tease and trick you, and before that he hardly even spared you a glance. But now it was almost like he was looking out for you, keeping you within arm's length in case something went wrong. Seeing this side of him made you wonder if he wasn't all that bad after all, though you weren't about to jump to that conclusion so soon. This was just a small step towards a potential friendship. Nothing more, nothing less. After all, there was still the possibility he might decide to eat you one day.

For now, you could actually that say you were calm though. You weren't afraid, you weren't being threatened, not even a glare was being thrown your way. It was nice. Everything had changed so drastically and in such a short period of time. All because you had won. All because Hoodie had decided to spare you. You had gotten lucky.

Only when Jack was about to sit down did he let go of your hand. A sudden thought interrupted him as he looked to you with a tilted head, "Where's the book you were reading last time?"

You blinked as you mentally retraced your steps from the previous day. "Uh... in the sitting area I think?" You eventually replied, but before you could even move to go get it yourself, Jack walked off in its direction.

A contemplative sigh left your lips before you sat down and folded your hands in your lap. Your fingers tapped against your thighs absentmindedly as your thoughts drifted off to less than lighthearted memories. The nightmare was still fresh in your mind, nothing like the fantastical dreams that you always seemed to immediately forget after waking up. Everything about this place seemed to keep your wounds open and bleeding. Even if you were physically fine your mind remained burning with guilt.

No matter how hard you tried to distance yourself from those memories nothing worked. Every time you saw Masky you thought of Sadie, every time you saw Jack you saw Emery, and every time you saw Jeff you were met with Jade's blank stare. And every time you saw Hoodie you saw all of the things he made you do and that only intensified everything. Your own mind wouldn't give you a break. It constantly screamed at you how sick you were and how everything was your fault. And it hurt more to know it was true.

Everything little thing you did brought you back to those horrible fights. It was impossible to forget and even more so to forgive yourself. After all, you were the one who had led everyone here. They'd all be alive if you hadn't been so naive.

You had stopped tapping your nails long ago and now they were digging into your thighs. Your eyes were teary while your jaw was clenched in an attempt to stop yourself from crying. You didn't think you deserved to cry anymore, and therefore you weren't going to let yourself. Your emotions had been teetering on the edge of a breakdown and the nightmare seemed to have pushed it over.

With your lungs burning and your eyes growing puffy and red you swallowed back your tears just as Jack came back with your book in hand. Unfortunately, as soon as he looked at you he stopped in his tracks and sighed.

"What's wrong?" He asked with as gentle of a tone as he could manage.

But those words were enough to break the mental dam holding everything in, and with that, you burst into tears. You quickly hide your face in your arms as you brought your knees up and curled into a ball. You hated crying in front of people, especially now. Especially in front of someone you were supposed to hate.

Jack frowned and cautiously made his way over to your side, then sat down beside you at a distance. He seemed almost afraid of scaring you, though he assumed that wasn't the reason you were so distraught. You both seemed to share the same struggle; neither of you knew how to handle each other. While Jack was a literal demon who was extremely intimidating, you were a human who wasn't even his responsibility yet he felt the need to make sure you were okay. But that made no sense to him. Then again, maybe he was just hoping to get out of owing Hoodie a favor. That had to be it.

With a sigh of both thought and concern he placed a hand on your shoulder and gave a soft pat, "...is it the nightmare again?"

You could only manage a small nod as your crying never slowed. Your chest ached as you bit back a sob and wrapped your arms around yourself even tighter. There was nothing anyone, even Jack, could really do you calm you down.

All you needed at the moment was time, which you weren't even entirely sure you had.

3.3 pages · 1,124 words