My Number One (001/Henry Creel/Vecna x Reader)

Testing the Waters

Before we begin, I'd love to suggest giving my Jimmy Fallon fanfiction a read! It's ongoing and has a lot of chapters written already. This Henry Creel story is new, so there isn't a lot in it so far, but please give it a chance—there's a lot to come! I hope you like it!

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I dropped my final red token into the winning Connect Four slot. Smiling, I looked up opposite me to see 011 sat staring at the game, a concentrated look on her face. I looked back down to see my token hovering inside the board above the space, not yet fallen.

"Eleven," I sighed. "Stop cheating. It still counts."

011 broke her stare from the token and let it drop. "Fine," she said, letting out a giggle. "You win."

With that, the door to the Rainbow Room slid open and Papa strode in. "Everyone please line up. I'd like you all to come with me for a few experiments."

A jelly-like nervous feeling filled my stomach. Sometimes Papa's experiments were scary, and oftentimes exhausting. He liked to push me to my limits, but I always trusted he was doing what was best for me.

Everyone left what they were doing and formed a line near the door, myself next to 011 as usual, and followed Papa into the corridor. As we made our way to the room in which we would conduct our experiments, I hoped for something easy. If we didn't want to participate in something, it didn't matter to Papa. We had no choice.

We were taken to a large room with a curtain separating it into two.

"Now, you can relax, children. This is something you've all done many a time," said Papa in his comforting voice.

I wouldn't sigh with relief just yet. I had done as many scary experiments as I had done easy ones.

"One by one you will go behind the curtain to have a test recorded of your brain activity, then come back to this side to perform your abilities on the metal buckets situated in the middle of the room, before coming back behind the curtain for another scan to see how your brain has differed. 002, you will begin."

A wave of relief washed over me. Something simple.

I waited in line against the wall beside 011. We didn't speak to each other, but I knew she was there and that was enough. She was the only person I enjoyed being around. We had similar minds. We laughed at the same things...and we also hated the same people.

Soon enough, it was 011's turn. While she was gone behind the curtain, I felt a sharp pressure in my ribs. I grasped it with my hand and looked around to see 002 staring right at me. He was using his power to hurt me in secret. I glared back and made a sharp jolting movement of my head using my powers to break his stare, and the pain lifted.

Before I had time to make myself angry over what had just happened, 011 came out from behind the curtain, which meant it was my turn to get my brain scan done.

I waited for Papa's command even though I knew it was my turn anyway, and then made my way to the other side of the room. Behind the curtain was a small table, and Mr Ballard was sitting at it. I sat down too. Mr Ballard often helped Papa with his tasks, but unlike Papa's other assistants, I actually liked him.

He was kind and gentle and I noticed that he was always careful never to put me on edge. I didn't quite know why, but I enjoyed looking at him, too. It was so strange to like someone's looks. But I did. I couldn't help but stare at his chiselled face, his long, smooth, blond hair, his intense eyes. Something made me want to touch him. But I didn't.

"Are you okay, Twelve?" he asked, looking up at me with those strong eyes, his head slightly bowed. When he spoke, I felt a fluttering in my stomach that I usually felt when I was nervous. I couldn't tell if it was because of the test, or Mr Ballard. But...why would it be Mr Ballard? He made me comfortable, not nervous.

"I think so," I managed, looking curiously into his eyes.

Mr Ballard stood out of his chair quietly, and I looked up at him. He was tall. "Do you mind if I attach this to your head?" he asked, showing me the equipment in his hands.

"No, I don't mind," I whispered.

Mr Ballard walked around the desk and stopped behind me. I held my breath and sat very still, sensing his presence, looking at his tall shadow on the desk in front of me. Soon, I saw his strong but bony hands reach around to my forehead and connect it up. When his fingers graced my skin, it almost tingled, and I replayed the contact over and over again in my head once he retook his seat. Why did I like a person so much? I liked 011, too, but it felt different...

"It'll only take a minute," he said in a slow rasp. Tired, I wanted to close my eyes, but with Mr Ballard opposite me I didn't want to miss a moment of seeing his face. I stared, and he stared back.

After a while, he stood again. "That should be it," he said.

He made his way back behind me and removed the equipment, but this time...he dropped both his hands to my shoulders when he was done and let out a sigh. I froze again, letting his hands rest on me, confused. Then, I felt him step closer behind me, so that his chest pressed against my back.

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Thank you so much for reading, please leave a vote and a comment if you enjoyed this chapter! Everyone who takes the time to read my story is really appreciated. Have a great day!