Mono || ETHEREAL [discontinued]

4. exhaustion

[ this is mostly just a fluffy chapter :p

also, school starts today! don't ask why i'm having an all nighter on my first day back to school.. wish me luck :') ]

you both got up from the ground, checking to see if there were any traps around you before moving. you grabbed mono's hand, pulling him along, causing him to let out a small squeak and suddenly tugging your hand back gently.
"what is it?" you turned around to face him, confusion splayed all over your face.

"nothing! nothing... it's just, you don't really take charge like that, is something wrong?"

mono stared at you through his paper bag, massaging your hand with his thumb, trying to comfort you as he saw you look away for a moment. "yeah, i just really want to get out of here, you know?" mono nodded and pulled you forward into a warm and welcoming hug; embracing you tightly as you slowly eased into it, closing your eyes.

you suddenly felt much more tired than before.

after a few minutes, you let go, smiling at him with half-lidded eyes, feeling your face heat up to a great extent. mono let out a lighthearted laugh at the sight, continuing to circle his thumb on your hand, both of you going forward and ducking underneath a hanging light from the ceiling; hearing laughter and many sounds of feet scurrying away on the wooden planks, making you and mono immediately tense up. "are there other kids here?" you asked mono, knowing fully well that he wouldn't be able to give you an answer.

"i don't know, y/n.."

~~~~~

you both continued to progress forward, narrowly missing traps that almost killed you, the buckets nearly hitting ur foot multiple times.

you had both finally made it to a hallway that looked safe, meaning you could finally take a moment to breathe. mono chuckled as you flopped on him dramatically, making him hold you by the waist so you don't fall.
"cmon, silly, we have to go."

"go on ahead, i'll be.." your eyes fluttered shut again as you lay on the floor, sighing in relief. "..fine."

mono rolled his eyes with a smile - not like you could see that anyway - and gently dragged your half-asleep body to the corner of the room, right by a locker. he sat on the floor behind you; you were huddled up into his chest in-between his legs, snoring slightly.

mono couldn't deny the butterflies he got in his stomach when he saw you peacefully cuddled up against him, his face heating up tremendously.

he stroked your head soothingly, careful not to get his fingers tangled in your hair. you stirred slightly, getting closer to mono as he wrapped his other arm around your waist protectively, leaning his head against the wall and sighing.

he had never felt so peaceful.

his tranquil stare was glued to your face, noticing how perfect you looked from that angle. a sigh escaped his lips, he had never noticed before, but you were quite cute.

underneath his bag, his face wore an expression of pure serenity; it stayed that way as he dozed off to sleep, his hand falling of your head and snaking its way around your waist to join the other one.

you woke up, slightly leaning forward to stretch before you felt two arms around your waist, keeping you pressed against something's- better yet- someone's chest.

your face turned a dark red, instantly realising who it was.

mono.

you slowly leaned back once again staring at the wall, thinking carefully about your next move.

as you were thinking about what you would do, mono stirred and opened his eyes, yawning as he let go of you to stretch.
you squeaked and sat up, turning around so you could face him, your face burning.

"why were you-!" mono laughed at your flustered state softly, speaking quietly due to the fact he just woke up, his voice slightly deeper than what you were used to. "i guess i fell asleep then... lucky nothing happened while we were asleep."

you ran your fingers down your face dramatically, groaning.
this whole fiasco was extremely embarrassing for you, but honestly? you liked it.

laughing, you stood up and brushed off your clothes, trying to get the blush off your face as you offered mono a sweaty hand.

mono was in the same position as you. underneath his mask, he was so red. mono felt like he could have a nosebleed at any moment; he was struggling to breathe purely because he didn't know how embarrassing this would be.

"heh.. let's go." mono said, taking your hand and getting up before pulling you forward, walking into multiple corridors once again.

mono slowly let go of your hand, making sure it was safe to do so, before going to pick up a hammer on the floor.

THUD.

a locker fell on top of mono, trapping him inside as you got surrounded by these child-like mannequins, you let out a shout as they grabbed you.

mono kicked his foot against the locker repeatedly once he heard your shouts for help, trying to lift the locker as fast as he could.

you kicked one of the dolls off you, elbowing another one in the face as they let go of you for a second; you ran forward, getting pulled back once again. "mono!" your cry echoed throughout the hall, the sound getting further away as you were dragged up a ladder, being roughly shoved into another dolls grasp.

mono finally got out of the locker, panting as he ran to where the ladder was beforehand, his chest heaving. "don't hurt them!" he shouted, only to be met with a suffocating silence. the eeriness seeping into his skin as he shivered.

"i'll get you back, y/n." he trudged forward, grabbing the hammer.

he slowly dragged it forward, trying to calm his heavy breathing, looking forward to see a doll a few feet ahead of him.
he slowly walked up to the doll from behind, before lifting the hammer up only to smash it down onto the dolls head, causing it to shatter into multiple porcelain pieces.

mono let out a huff of satisfaction, slightly cringing at the fact that he may have committed a murder once again, even though it technically wasn't a human.

oh boy, he was going to make them pay.