HENRY MILLS X READER - CURIOUS
Henry woke once again to find his bed covered in sweet wrappers. That was the fifth time in a row and he was getting sick of it. It would always happen like this - he would lock his window and door, check no one was hiding in his closet and scour the room, making absolutely sure there was nothing that could possibly leave the rubbish. But every morning, without fail, he would wake surrounded by old candy wrappers, the sickly smell of peppermint in the air.
This day was different however. This day they had left a clue. He discovered it as he grumbly got from his bed, getting ready to clean up the mess before his mother noticed and blamed him for the midnight snacking. He was just bending down to grab the bin when something on the top of his nightstand caught his eye.
A note.
He frowned, rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't just seeing things. But there it was, the white paper standing out boldly in the light sunlight. He grabbed the message from where it perched, noticing the strong smell of pines and the woods that radiated from it. It was obvious where the note was telling him to go, even without the subtle message and leaf attached to the inside.
Curious?
Come and find me
x
Henry licked his lips, debating whether to take the bait or not. His mum wasn't awake yet, if he was quick he could sneak out and back without being caught. But was it worth the risk.
He looked at the absolute state his room had been left in, mint green wrappers strewn everywhere.
Yes.
Yes it was.
He grabbed his coat and without a sound slipped out his window. He rushed toward the woods, watching the empty streets nervously. He only prayed no one was up this early to spot him and ask what the hell he was doing.
Oh you know, just following a mysterious note left in my bedroom by someone who has been sneaking in and trashing the place with their eating habits. Just a normal Wednesday morning.
He shook his head, listening to any clues if he was getting close to finding the culprit. He looked around a tree, unaware of the stranger perching just above him on a branch.
They smiled, watching the confused boy with interest. They licked their lips, pulling something out of their pocket and dropping it to the ground.
Henry looked up to only find them gone. With an uneasy feeling in his stomach he walked toward his clue, bending down to inspect it.
A green, peppermint candy wrapper.
He sprung up when a hand was placed on his shoulder, spinning around wildly. He could hear a light hearted chuckle echo around him as he stared at the nothingness behind him. A simple explanation would have been it was just the wind. But Henry lived with fairy tale characters so he knew that nothing was ever as it seemed.
"Looking for me" a voice purred to his left.
His head snapped in the direction, his fist clenching together in fright. The person was hooded but he could tell they were young, probably around his age due to the height. They stayed resting against the tree for a few moments before pulling down the cloak, grinning madly.
Henry studied them in shock. They were dressed in a simple man's blue button up shirt, short black skirt and clunky black boots covered in muck. Their whole demeanour reeked of confidence and a little madness, which instantly made the hair on the back of his neck bristle. But he couldn't quite tell if that was a bad thing yet. Their eyes, surprisingly, weren't the most shocking thing about the strange creature - despite the fact that they seemed to change colour every time they blinked, more often than not settling on a wild (Y/ec). No the most striking about them was the large cat ears balanced on top of a thick, messy mass of (Y/hc) hair. They were black and grey striped and twitched at the slightest sound, listening intently to the woodland creatures around them.
"Oh I'm sorry, they are a bit distracting" the stranger smirked, their voice smooth but thick like honey.
They shook their head quickly and just like that, poof, the ears were away.
"Better?"
Henry gaped for a few seconds, blinking rapidly. Was this really happening or was it a sugar induced dream? Maybe he had been the one eating all of those mints.
"You are a curious one aren't you" they smiled, reaching into their cloak pocket to pull out a green peppermint "That's why I like you Henry, you're like me"
"I-um" he stuttered, itching the side of his head "Who are you?"
"I go many names" the mysterious creature smiled "Chess, puss, demon. But you can just call me (Y/n)"
"WH-what are you?"
"Do you know, I've been in so many forms over the centuries that even I've forgotten" (Y/n) giggled "Isn't that funny?"
"I guess" Henry smiled blandly, still feeling uneasy.
"All you need to know is I am not one thing, I am not male nor female, human nor beast" they explained "I am neither and both at the same time. It's a very confusing concept, most don't understand. But to keep things simple, know that I am me and there is no one else quite as extraordinary or unusual as I"
"O-okay" he raised an eyebrow, not liking the way they looked at him. Like he was a cross between their next meal and treasure they had hunted long to find.
"Now, let me get a look at you" they sighed, in an instant appearing right in front of him. (Y/n) pulled at his cheeks, humming lightly.
"How did you do that?" he asked, his words mushed together as the creature inspected him.
"Do what?" they asked, now behind him, testing out his right arm.
"That!" Henry snapped, turning round to look at them. But (Y/n) was gone, now in front of him again.
"Oh, that" (Y/n) drawled "Well my reality works differently than yours, which is why I can do this"
They shook their head and Henry stared back in amazement at a complete replica of himself. He tilted his head to the side, so did (Y/n). He raised his left arm, so did (Y/n). He fixed his hair, so did (Y/n). They were the first to break the fun game however, bursting into a fit of laughter at the boy's bewildered expression.
"Pretty cool, huh?" (Y/n) asked, shaking their head again so they changed back to their preferred form.
"Can you do other stuff?" he asked, an excited glint lighting in (Y/n)'s cat like eyes.
"Much more. This is the mere tip of the iceberg that is my power"
"Cool" Henry grinned, making (Y/n) squeal.
"Are you okay?" he asked, wondering why they were acting this way.
"Oh yes Henry, I'm just very excited" They nodded "You see I've been planning this day for a very long time. Oh the things we'll do Henry, the things we'll see. You'll finally understand, no one ever has you see. But I know you will"
"You're not here to kidnap me, are you?" he paled, thinking back to his time spent on Neverland "Or kill me?"
"Kidnap, heavens no!" (Y/n) exclaimed, popping another mint into their mouth "Kill you however, well that's another story"
They waited only a moment before bursting into another fit of laughter, slapping their bare knees hard.
"Oh I'm just kidding, you'll get used to my jokes, I can promise you that"
Henry let out a sigh of relief, opening his eyes to find his new found friend missing.
"So, Henry Mills, are you coming?"
He looked up at the tree where (Y/n) had draped themselves over, frowning slightly when their hand played with his dark brown hair.
"Where?"
Their eyes widened, flickering a bright electric blue before fading back to their normal colour.
"On an adventure of course"
He looked up at the mad grin on their face and for once didn't feel quite so terrified.
"Yes"
