Freak ~Juuzou x Reader AU~

Chapter 37: No Sleep

Seven missed calls.

Three from Randy and four from Mrs. Warner. I don't have to look at my call log to know that, though. All I had to do was sit there and watch as their names took turns flashing across my screen.

I never answer. I don't want to. Not right now. Right now, all I want is to be left alone. Hell, if I were able to, I'd temporarily shut myself off just so I could escape for five minutes. Not sleep. God knows I can't sleep. But to turn my brain off long enough to just forget. For a moment.

To just forget about all the craziness that has become life. As horrible as that may sound - and it does. It sounds hideously horrible, but I can't handle it. There's too much. Way too much. And it all weighs like a stone on me.

Suddenly, a knock comes upon my door, startling me. I jolt as my heart leaps into my throat. Before I have a chance, possibilities of who it could be and what they want flash through my mind. A ghoul sent to finally kill me. A human to do the same. Clay here to do it himself.

I tremble, my throat growing hoarse when a voice I recognize cuts through the silence, and immediately sets me at ease.

"Y/N? It's me! Thought I'd swing by to see how you're doing."

I exhale and open the door, my eyes falling on the man outside in the hall. Juuzou stands, dressed in his usual baggy clothes, each article hanging awkwardly from him as his hair falls in messy patterns. He is already looking at me, his eyes a deep crimson in the artificial glow.

"Ello," he says.

"Hey," I breathe. I want to find comfort in him being here. I want to.

He observes me, his demeanor shifting ever so slightly, though I can still hear that soft kindness riding on the edge of his tone. "May I come in?"

I don't want guests. I don't want to see anyone, but he's already here. I shrug, "Sure."

I step aside and he comes in. At first, he is silent as his eyes dance across my suite. A suite that is much less grand and extravagant compared to where I was before, but that doesn't bother me. Not really. From the start, I never needed the most elaborate place to stay. Something simple like this - a single room with a bed, mini-fridge, microwave, and any other necessities. That's all. That's all I really needed.

He turns and looks at me. His expression is even and smooth, but like so many times before, unreadable. I can't tell what's going through his mind. Which is nothing new I suppose. Sometimes I can read him just fine and other times, not so much. Now is the latter.

"You look tired," he says. "Did you sleep at all last night?"

Geeze. Way to break the ice. Why not just tell me I look like shit? "It was a rough night. I didn't sleep much."

He observes me a bit more. "Yeah. I get that. There's a lot going on. You probably have a ton on your mind."

At least he's aware.

He reaches over his head and gives a great stretch. I can hear the crack of his spine and watch as he yawns. It's as I watch him that I notice something. Under his eyes are two dark shadows. Well, not shadows created by the light. Shadows that are either bruises or...

"What about you?" I ask. "Have you been getting proper sleep?"

He turns to me, that expression so unreadable. But as I look into his eyes, I can see something. I don't know what I see, but it's there and it's fixated on me.

I'm about to speak when the corners of his lips pull up and he beams. "Awe. Shucks. Are you worried about me?" He drops his arms to his sides. "Don't worry. I sleep like a baby every night, so I'm fine."

I narrow my eyes. "Are you sure? It looks like you have dark circles -"

"I wanted to give you an update," he says abruptly, not looking at me.

I instantly shut my mouth. An update? Already? Could they have already come across something? My heart races with eagerness. The anticipation swells.

I silently sit as he continues. "We're working on getting warrants to check Key's restaurants and properties - all of them. So, we'll be working with other jurisdictions, which means there's no saying how long this will take. That said, while we wait for that ball to get rolling, we still plan to find those kids."

I perk up. "Wait, does that mean... Do you still believe they're here in H/P?"

My heart is racing, a tiny shrivel of hope tugging at it. Hope that has slowly but surely been waning.

He looks at me, that smile once again there. "Oh, we know they are, and we're bringing them back."

He spends the next several moments explaining how they got another anonymous tip that sounds promising, at which I allow myself to hope more and more, but I always bring myself back down, reminding myself what happened the last time they received a tip. We had all been so confident then, too. However, look what they found. Not Rui and those other kids. No, what they found were the three corpses of Janelle, Sterling, and Gabriella.

I shudder, but wave as Juuzou makes his leave. He waves and smiles brightly. Probably trying to reassure me. However, as I observe and wave back, I can't help but see those two dark circles under his eyes. Not shadows. Not bruises. Dark circles.

And I know he lied about sleeping.

**Bello lovelies! Look, a little Juuzou. Wasn't much but it was something. So, I ordered the prequel to We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, titled Family of Liars. I'm so excited about that book. The first one was spectacular. Can't wait. Anyway, as always, thank y'all so much for all the love! Wuv yous!! <3**

-Noel Ross