Beneath Their Devotion (Yanderes x Reader)

6. Drunken Talks

Y/N felt the alcohol humming through her veins, muting the weight of her worries. Everything seemed far less complicated than it had earlier that evening.

Her steps wavered on the uneven pavement, but she barely noticed. The laughter and music from the bar still lingered in her mind, creating a warm haze around her thoughts.

Y/N and Hayato's friend group had stayed and drank for a few hours and now they were on their way back to Thornebridge. The faint light of dawn suggested morning was near.

It was a rare taste of rebellion—her first real step beyond the boundaries of the carefully constructed life she had always known.

Her gaze drifted to the people she was with, who were just as swept up in the moment. The girl who had an ex in the Circle, who she later found out was called Emmaline, teetered on the edge of the sidewalk, her giggles echoing as she spread her arms for balance.

Another girl, Miri, was skipping cheerily. And then there was Hayato, who was laughing so hard his shoulders shook with each breathless chuckle.

"You guys are ridiculous," Y/N slurred, her lips curving into a grin as she leaned against the cold brick wall to steady herself. "But this is actually... kinda fun. I don't regret it."

"You're only saying that because you're drunk," Emmaline teased. "Wait till you wake up tomorrow and remember everything."

"Not if I pass out right here," Y/N quipped, throwing her arms wide as if inviting the pavement to catch her.

"Don't you dare," Miri said, tugging her back into motion. "We're almost at the gates. Just a little further."

The group stumbled onward, their carefree banter floating into the night, mingling with the hum of distant city sounds.

But then Y/N slowed. A faint sound had sliced through her haze of laughter. Footsteps echoing faintly from somewhere behind them.

She turned, eyes scanning the dimming street, and there, just ahead, was a figure walking toward them.

Y/N squinted through the haze of alcohol clouding her senses. There was no mistaking the dark silhouette, the unmistakable pin on his lapel. The Circle's emblem.

"Shit," Miri muttered, her eyes widening.

"Uh-oh," Emmaline added, her voice suddenly sobering.

"If he sees us we can say goodbye to any and all Circle events!" Miri said anxiously.

"Or he'll snitch about it to the headmaster," Hayato groaned.

"Turn around," Miri hissed. "Go! Now!"

Without hesitation, the four of them broke into a clumsy run, adrenaline cutting through their inebriation. Y/N's heart pounded in her chest, every hurried footstep echoing the hammering of her pulse. Her breaths came in uneven gasps as she darted around corners, the others just ahead of her.

"Split up!" Emmaline shouted, her voice tight with panic.

Y/N veered into an alley, her feet barely keeping up with the momentum of her escape. The alley was narrow, its cobblestones slick beneath her unsteady steps.

But then her foot caught on something—a loose stone or maybe just her own clumsiness—and she fell hard. Her hands scraped against the rough pavement, a sharp pain blooming in her palms.

Before she could scramble to her feet, a hand closed around her arm, holding her in place.

"Well, well," a voice drawled, laced with amusement. "Thought you could outrun me?"