Silent Whispers (Human Nightmarionne X Reader)

Chapter 9: Friend or foe?

A few hours after falling asleep, you wake up, hearing the same disturbing noise as yesterday.

"No... please... leave me alone!"

You hear someone knocking on your door.

"Go away! Leave me alone, you monster!"

No one answers but the sound stops. You hear someone crying in the corridor. Curious and empathetic, you get out of bed and stick your ear onto the door, listening closer. You keep hearing the sobs and decide to cautiously open it, ready to slam it back if necessary. 

You see a tall young man on the floor, curled up into a ball, his face buried between his knees. He looks pale and scrawny with short white hair and is wearing a black shirt which sleeves are so long that they hide his hands. As soon as you open the door, the weeps stop.

"What are you doing in my house?!" You whisper.

He looks at you, revealing pathetic black tears streaming down his face. Once he notices you, he gently smiles.

" - You decided to open to me. Thank you. Can I come in?

- What? No! I don't even know who you are or what you're doing in my house. I'm calling the police."

Before you can do anything, he gets up faster than a human being could and grabs your wrist, his face close to yours, his eyes deeply staring into yours as his smile fades away, replaced by what looks to be fear and sadness.

" - Please don't do that!

- First, back off!"

He respectfully steps back from you.

"Then, give me one reason I shouldn't do that."

He looks around.

" - I can't tell you here. Please let me in.

- Not before you give me a reason to.

- I don't want anyone else to hear us.

- What are you doing here? Are you trying to kill me?

- Killing you? No, not at all!

- Can I have your word?

- I promise."

You sigh and let him in.

"This might be a huge mistake."

You close the door behind him. You turn back and see him sitting on your bed.

" - Um... make yourself at home?

- Thank you.

- Now, tell me what you're doing here. What do you want from me?

- I... I first wanted to apologize for making you scared of me. I couldn't find a way to show up... appropriately.

- You look well dressed though.

- Oh, well, thank you, but I wasn't talking about tonight.

- Wait... that creature from yesterday was... you?

- Y-yeah..."

He adjusts his white tie, embarrassed.

" - This... this wasn't me... I mean, not really.

- What do you mean? You've just told me it was you.

- Of course, but... This was one of my current three forms.

- Are you a shapeshifter?

- Kind of, but my appearances are limited to three. Yesterday, you saw the first one. You're seeing the third.

- What's the second one?

- It manifests during the day... which is better.

- How so?

- If it had to show up at night... It would do horrible things...

- Like?

- Murder is the softest thing it could do."

You gasp and step back.

" - Wait! Please, don't run away! I'm not a monster... I mean... not when I have this form... 

- What does that second form do during the day?

- Nothing much, really. Besides looking a bit creepy and unsettling, it's perfectly harmless, trust me.

- How am I supposed to trust someone whose name is unknown to me?

- I have two names, but you can call me Nightmarionne.

- Why such a name?

- Because I look... nightmarish, as you could see yesterday, and because I've always imagined being a marionette by the way I dress up, black and white mixed together. And, well, as I'm a boy, "Nightmarionette" sounded a bit too feminine for me, so I chose "Nightmarionne" instead.

- What's your second name?

- I... I can't say it... or else my second form will manifest.

- Alright, Nightmarionne. That still doesn't tell me what you're doing here.

- I'm trying to warn you about me... especially my second form.

- Why?

- Because... because I know you. Believe it or not, you know me too...

- How?"

As you ask your question, the sun starts rising. The young man gasps.

"I got no time to explain. Goodbye."

He vanishes at the speed of light.