𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐒 𝐌𝐄

─ ❝ act xvii ❞

⎡ act xvii - similarities ⎦

┊❝ Don't worry... I won't break you too badly ❞┊

── ESCORTING (Y/N) to her bathroom, Dylan sat her down on the counter before brushing a few strands of hair out of her face, watching for the fluttering of her eyelids and the subtle parting of her lips. Smiling at how absolutely helpless she looked, finding her to be almost adorable in that moment, he grabbed a towel from one of the drawers and wet the material so he could gently pat her face. Rinsing the blood from her flesh and cooling down her skin, he stopped when noticing she was staring at him.

"What?" He murmured softly, searching her gaze when finding nothing in its depths.

"Ian..." she croaked hoarsely, his brow twitching at the mention of his friend's name despite the fact that he was there in front of her, the sudden but brief surge of irritation strange to him. "...told me why you do this; why you're taking care of me after you... or others, hurt me."

"And what is that?" He hummed.

"That you're doing this... to damage me," she continued, staring at him so intensely his breath wavered. "To break me easier..."

"Well," Dylan tilted his head. "He's not wrong."

"Why?"

"Hm?"

"Why... is that?"

"That's like asking why the sun shines," Dylan chuckled as he takes a dry towel to pat her face again, this time by taking away the water residuals left on her skin, his touch so gentle that she almost was convinced he wouldn't hurt her—a fleeting thought that she quickly crushed and ground up. "It's just the way things are. Maybe... I just want you to be complacent. It makes things so much easier, don't you agree?"

"I'll get away..." (Y/N) coughed out, pushing his hands away as she tried to straighten up. "I'll be able to escape... from you."

"Try it," Dylan scoffed as he set both hands on either side of her body, caging her there, his eyes twinkling with a sadistic type of glee that made her lips twist into a scowl. "Try to run from me... see how far you get." Lidding his eyes, his smirk becoming gentler as he lifted his hand to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, he continued, "It won't matter in the end. You'll just wind up right back where you started: with me. Then the cycle will repeat itself. But don't worry... I won't break you too badly."

(Y/N) said nothing to that.

She didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

Dylan merely smiled at her silence until his attention was taken away by the door opening, Ian standing there with that ever flat expression on his face. His clothes looked ruffled while a new bruise seemed to be forming over his right cheek, both of his bloodied knuckles indicating that his altercation with the other two boys hadn't ended peacefully for either side. Ian flicked his gaze from Dylan to (Y/N) before letting out a sigh and leaning against the doorframe, folding his arms over his chest as if he hadn't a care in the world.

"So?" Dylan placed a hand on the counter to lean his weight against, his smile growing. "Did you take care of the problem?"

"Yeah," Ian nodded. "They're all gone. They likely won't think of touching (Y/N) again."

His eyes met hers.

She looked away just as quickly.

"Is she fine?" Ian then questioned as he gestured with his head towards (Y/N), his brows dipping while his eyes narrowed, clearly showing a sense of displeasure that even he was unsure of why. "Or at least will live?"

"Of course, of course," Dylan waved his hand as if waving away Ian's questions.

"Good."

As silence settled between the three, (Y/N) couldn't help the small shiver that ran up her spine upon the continuance of both boys staring at her. The feeling of their eyes on her was as if they were trying to see past her very soul—as if trying to rip apart what made her up painfully layer by layer. It was unsettling, and the longer the seconds ticked past, the more words built up in her throat clawing to be released until she couldn't take it anymore.

"Do you still need something from me?" She snapped, by that point pushing herself off of the counter and onto the ground to gain some sense of control over her spiraling situation. "Or are you just going to keep standing there?"

"I like looking at you, so maybe the second option?" Dylan mused, clearly entertained.

(Y/N)'s expression further withered.

"Perhaps we should stay for dinner," Ian then suggested with a lift of his chin, the small smirk hinting that he was enjoying the brief hint of panic lacing her eyes when she snapped her head back to look at him. "I'm sure your father won't mind us over, would he, (Y/N)?"

She grit her teeth.

Curling her fingers into fists, she restrained from wrapping her hands around his throat.

Or from squeezing.

"I mean, after all, it's not like we have anyone wanting to have dinner with us," Dylan shrugged as he leaned forward so that he was at eye level with her, his smile almost kind if it weren't for the dark emotions swirling in his stare. "We're similar in that aspect, aren't we? Your father may agree, but that doesn't mean he'll want to be there. Maybe when you ask, he'll say that he won't be joining us? Seems like a likely enough scenario."

(Y/N) brushed past him without another word so she could descend the stairs, lingering outside of the dining room before taking a breath and waking inside, finding her father exactly as she left him: embroiled in his work uncaring of where his daughter was or who she was with.

"Father?" She spoke up, her voice meek.

"What?" He questioned, his tone cold.

"Two of my... classmates want to stay over for dinner," she started, her hands shaking so much that she had to clasp them together behind her back. "Is that okay with you?"

"It's fine," he stated, not once looking at her, his eyes glued to his computer screen so he could type away. "Do whatever you want, (Y/N)." Finally, he stopped what he was doing when the realization sunk in, his emotionless gaze meeting hers as he said, "I'll give you some money for take out. I'm not cooking. I'm also not joining you. I'll be in my room since I have a lot of work to do. Do not bother me."

With that, he stood up and walked up the stairs at the same time as Ian and Dylan walked down to join (Y/N), the latter's arm wrapping around her shoulder as it usually did.

"See?" Dylan whispered into her ear. "I told you we were similar, (Y/N)."        

__________________________________

To be continued...