Songs and Screams (Pico x reader)

Chapter 4

You watched as a guy with ginger hair walked into the apartment, looking a little uneasy. Skid and Pump both ran up to him, giving him a tight hug. He relaxed a little, smiling and hugging the two kids back. It would've been a cute sight if it wasn't for you noticing the handle of a gun sticking out from one of his pockets. The sight caused you to tense up, your eyes going wide as you shrunk back.

Why was he carrying a gun around? What purpose did he have for needing to have a gun stuffed into his pockets when going over to help babysit? Was he planning on shooting someone? Did he already shoot someone? You did your best to hide your shaking as one much darker thought popped into your head.

What if he was planning on killing Jessica, Skid, and Pump?

"So, what was oh so important that you needed me to take care of these two for a bit?" Jessica asked the guy.

"I got a call. Someone needed me last minute," he said. He finally realized you were there, looking over at you with a confused and slightly uneasy look. "Who's this?"

"Oh, this is (y/n). They're a friend of mine from high school," Jessica explained. She walked over to you, grabbed your arms, and pushed you over to the guy, despite what you assumed was your very obvious discomfort. "(y/n), this is Pico. He's friends with Cherry. Or, at least, friends with her boyfriend."

"I'm on pretty good terms with her," he said, chuckling a little.

You were shaking like a leaf. While Pico seemed alright, you did not like that he had a gun on him. Especially since that gun wasn't in any sort of proper case or holster. It was just half hazardously shoved into his pocket. A small part of you wouldn't be surprised if the safety wasn't even turned on.

"Hey, it's okay. He's nice," Jessica said, rubbing your arms.

You slowly nodded. "I-I'm gonna go back to my room," you whispered, lightly pushing her hands off of you and darting back to your room.

You didn't know why you were so scared. Pico seemed kinda nice. Then again, less than five minutes of talking wasn't long enough for you to justify trusting someone who carries a gun on them. You just couldn't trust him. Sure, Girlfriend and Jessica trusted him, but Girlfriend didn't have much sense of danger and Jessica was a lot more forgiving and caring than most. You just... you didn't want to be around Pico at that moment.

You curled up on the couch, pressing your hands to your chest. Your heart was beating so fast. Did you leaving just put them in more danger? Maybe you did a good thing by leaving the room? You didn't know. You didn't know what was going on right now. You closed your eyes, just wanting the world to disappear for a bit while you sorted out your thoughts.

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You opened your eyes to the soft sound of music coming from the living room. The door to your room was partly opened, meaning someone had to have come in at some point. You sat up and rubbed your eyes, looking around. Some of the equipment from the desk and shelves were missing.

You slowly crept out of the room and into the living room. Peaking out, you saw Skid and Pump both curled up against Pico, the two kids sleeping soundly. The ginger haired boy was leaning back against the couch with his hands resting behind his neck. Jessica was sitting on the ground next to the couch, a guitar in her hands. She would quietly strum and pluck different notes, humming the tune of the song while doing so.

"So... your friend went to school with you?" you heard Pico quietly ask.

"Yup, they were a freshman when I was a senior. We were in the same ceramics class," she said, chuckling a little.

"You sculpt?" Pico asked, a little shocked.

"No, not really. I just took it to get all my credits. The class was mostly just an easy A," she explained.

Pico nodded before glancing up, realizing you were there. You tensed up and shrunk back, ready to dart back to your room if you had to.

"You can join us. I don't bite," he said, smirking a little.

"I'd beg to fucking differ but whatever you say," Jessica grumbled.

You nodded, slowly making your way over to the couch and taking a seat on the opposite end from Pico. Glancing at him, you realized he didn't have his gun on him. You looked around a bit more and saw it was on the coffee table. While it was still in the apartment, you felt a bit safer knowing it wasn't on him.

"So, can you rap?" Pico asked.

"N-no..." you mumbled.

"They can sing, they just don't do any sort of battles," Jessica said.

"So it's just gonna be the same old singers again? Damn," he said, sighing.

"Hey, I ain't battling anyone this time around, but at least I'm performing," Jessica said.

Pico laughed a little. "Doesn't change the fact that all the people I'm gonna be battling are the same," he said.

"So... where do you guys work?" you quietly asked.

"Oh, I work as a server in the mornings and go busking and play at different places at night," Jessica said.

You nodded and glanced at Pico with a questioning look.

"I... I don't like to talk about it," he said.

You nodded again, though you had a sneaking suspension that you knew what he did. You could be totally wrong, but the fact that he carried a gun with him was a bit telling. He probably did babysitting on the side as a way to keep people from suspecting anything.

"And you?" Pico asked.

"I don't have a job yet," you said.

"Don't worry. I talked to my boss and he said he can get you a job at the place I work at," Jessica said.

You noticed Pico start to look a little nervous. You didn't know how Jessica's words made him nervous, but they apparently did. Then, you saw him try to start moving Skid and Pump. The two only just clung to him tighter.

"Help," he said, keeping his voice down.

"What, you scared of servers?" Jessica joked.

"Bathroom," he said.

You very quickly realized what he was talking about and helped him move the two. They immediately went to clinging to you instead, which allowed Pico to get up and run off to the bathroom.

As soon as the door shut, Jessica turned to look at you. "He's not gonna hurt you, ya know," she said

"I just..." you trailed off, looking at the gun that was still on the table. "I don't think it'll be good for me to be around him," you said.