The Black Rose | Crankiplier/Dark x Ethan

8| THE ROSE

Ethan's pov

I walked downstairs, seeing Mark at the front door, about to grab his keys.

He noticed me, smiling slightly.

"Oh, hey, you can put all those empty boxes in the basement if you want." He offered, grabbing his keys from the rack.

"I probably should. They take up like half of my room space." I said letting out a small laugh.

Mark chuckled, saying goodbye and leaving.

I went upstairs to get some of the boxes to put in the basement.

I've never been inside the basement–never even seen past the door.

Over my few months of staying here, I've grown... comfortable with it being there. Mark and Sean walked in and out of it, so it couldn't be that bad.

I grabbed two boxes and went downstairs, setting them down to open the door.

Mark was going out later today so while it was still bright, it felt a little spooky.

I opened the door, sighing. I picked up both boxes and walked down the worn wooden stairs.

They creaked and groaned under my weight. I yelped when I saw a spider on the wall.

Once I finally made it down, I set the boxes down, looking around the place.

It was surprisingly small and definitely older than the top part of the house.

There were already a lot of boxes in here with a lot of books in them, along with some framed pictures of people o didn't recognize.

I went back upstairs and grabbed the rest of the boxes, setting them down where I put the rest of the boxes.

There was a wooden table I didn't notice before, in the opposite corner of the room.

Oh the table was a fancy wooden box with a lock.

I picked up the box, examining it. On the box was a red jewel–exactly like the one on the key I found.

I shook it, hearing something thump around in there.

Whatever's in here can't be that heavy based on the thumps.

I went back upstairs and grabbed the key from my drawer.

I know I was being evasive, but he was being super weird and cryptic about nearly everything in this house.

I grabbed the box, putting the key in and twisting.

A soft click sounded from the box and the lid opened slightly.

I opened it further, brows furrowing at what I saw.

A red rose with one completely black petals. The petal didn't look dead, per say, it looked like the black was spreading to another petal.

"What the.."

I picked up the flower.

"Shit-!" I exclaimed as one of the thorns pricked my finger.

The blood quickly pooled out of my finger and dripped onto the ground.

I barely had time to process what was happening as my vision began to spot and blur.

I felt myself hit the ground as my eyes closed.

                                  

I opened my eyes, seeing nothing but darkness.

Was this still the basement?

I got off the ground, looking at my finger. There was no blood, no scar, nothing.

Looking around at my surroundings, I became more and more confused.

It was nothing but darkness. It was like I was standing in some sort of..void.

"Void..Mark calls it that too." A voice said. It sounded like Mark but deeper..darker.

It sounded like it came from everywhere..or nowhere? Like it was in my head.

A ringing sounded as I set my eyes on a man. He was standing with his back facing me.

He was wearing what looked to be a white suit.

The weirdest think about him was that his skin seem to be..grey? Plus there was this red-blue aura surrounding him.

I winced and put my hands over my ears as the ringing got worse.

The figure started to turn towards me, slowly. Moving only his head and nothing else.

The ringing was loud now. It began to hurt my ears. I clamped my hands harder over my ears, desperate to block the sound.

I screamed out in pain as the ringing sound grew louder. It felt like my head was splitting apart. Like my ears were exploding.

I could feal a warm liquid running down my arms. Blood.

The figure was now almost completely looking at me, smirk evident on his face. His sharp teeth showing through the grin.

His eyes were a bright shade of red.

"See."

The ringing somehow grew louder.

"You."

I began to feel lightheaded and dizzy. I could barely keep my eyes on his.

"Soon."

I squeezed my eyes shut from the intense pain.

Suddenly the ringing stopped and so did the pain.

I pried my eyes open, looking around.

I was back in the basement. It was noticably darker in here now.

How long was I out?

Was that a dream?

I looked down at my hands. There was no blood or any evidence that I was even in that place.

Who was that man?

Why did he look like Mark?

Ran a hand through my hair, standing up.

The rose was on the ground, forgotten.

I picked it up, careful of the thorns this time. The black on one of the petals seemed to have spread..by a lot.

I put the rose back, locking the box back and rushing out of the basement.

The sun was setting now.

"How long was I out?" I muttered, looking at the nearest clock.

Three hours?!

I jumped again when I heard the front door open. Mark walked in, going about his business, not noticing me.

I had so many questions and no one to answer them.

Mark's pov

"Hey, Ethan? I was thinking maybe you.." I let my voice trail off, noticing Ethan wasn't in his room.

I went back downstairs, shocked when I saw Ethan standing in the kitchen. He looked.. I don't know.. surprised?

"I was wondering if maybe on your lunch break tomorrow I could treat you to lunch? There's this new place that opened up and I've heard it's good."

Ethan's surprised expression quickly turned into a happy one.

"You wanna treat me to lunch?"

I smiled, "if that's okay with you?"

"Are you kidding? That sounds amazing!"

I grinned, heading towards my office.

I head Sean's voice in the back of my head.

"You need to end this "