Inner Demons 》Ticci Toby x Reader《 Savior Book 2

Chapter 3

Toby offered you his arm and you took it gladly, allowing him to lead you back down the isle and into the cheering crowd of freaks and friends. There were many unfamiliar faces among the hoards, but you didn't mind. It made Toby happy to see them all, so it made you happy too. Next, the two of you cut the cake and Hoodie, your official photographer, snapped pictures of him feeding you cake and you shoving a large piece into his face. After everyone had eaten and Jeff, BEN, and EJ had quickly and skillfully transitioned the backyard from the ceremony to the after party, Jane orchestrated the music and the Creepypastas gathered around the dance floor. Toby lead you to the center of the sparkling black board and rested his hands gently around your waist. You tangled your arms around his neck and let him guide you through the first dance.

You'd never been one for dancing, but then again, you'd never really given it a try before now. Jane had insisted that you let her and Toby, who was actually a very good and experienced dancer, teach you. During rehearsals, you'd learned that you weren't as awful as you'd imagined and having Toby as a partner almost hid your flaws entirely. He'd told you that his mother had made him take ballroom dancing classes with his older sister when he was younger and he'd grown to love it. 

When the first song was over, the music switched from romantic and elegant to wild and upbeat. Creepypastas fled onto the dance floor, tangling around you and Toby, searching for friends to chat and dance with. You dragged Toby off the floor and convinced him to introduce you to some of his friends that you hadn't met. As people came up to congratulate you, you recognized some of them from the party at SplendorMan's mansion the night you were taken.

"Congratulations," a quiet, masked man with black hair nodded and patted Toby on the shoulder.

"(Y/N), this is the Bloody Painter, but we all call him Helen," Toby smiled and you extended a hand towards the boy. He shook it lightly and lifted  his mask to smile at you. He looked to be around your age, maybe a little older and he had soft, gentle features that brought out his child-like beauty.

"It's nice to meet you Helen," you grinned. Several others followed after him and you saw Dark Link and Jeff's brother striding towards you. You spotted the brown-haired boy easily, standing a head above the crowd. You remembered them both, though the name of Jeff's sibling escaped you.

"Congrats, you two," Dark Link sneered, "Who knew that you would be the first one to tie the knot."

"Thanks," Toby said flatly.

"We're very happy for the two of you," Jeff's brother nodded. 

"Thank you, but I don't believe we've met properly. I'm (Y/N) (Y/L/N)."

"(Y/N) Rogers," Toby corrected with a grin.

"A pleasure to meet you," the boy smiled. "I'm Liu."

"Don't forget about me," he said in a deeper, ominous voice. Liu cleared his throat and sighed.

"And this is my friend Sully."

"'Tis an honor," Sully smirked and kissed your hand. 

"Let's hit the snack bar," Dark Link suggested, jerking his head to the left. Liu turned to leave, but stopped when he realized he was still holding your hand.

"Very sorry about that," he said with an embarrassed and apologetic smile, "Sully has a mind of his own."

"Don't worry about it," you smiled and waved a hand. "It was nice to meet you two."

"You've got some very interesting friends," you said to Toby once the congratulatory introductions had slowed to a trickle.

"You can't pick your family," Toby shrugged. He rarely talked about who he was before he'd lived here, but you knew enough to know that these people meant everything to him. You'd only heard snippets about his life before from some of the other housemates and scarcely from the source himself. You didn't mind that he was secretive about it, mostly just curious. You wanted to know everything about him and you seemed to learn something new every day. Just last week, you'd learned that he had a dust allergy that caused him to sneeze uncontrollably. It was actually very adorable, though it had made him grumpy for the rest of the night. You wanted to know more of the little things, not just his mysterious past.

"Come here for a minute," Toby called quietly. You looked at him in confusion and strode a little closer to him. He continued to motion you closer until you were about three inches from him. He wrapped his arms around your neck and closed the last bit of space between you. Burying his face in your hair, he took a deep breath and his twitches calmed into soft, infrequent ticks.

"Are you alright?" You asked, running your fingers through his hair rhythmically. 

"Yeah," he muttered, "I'm just really happy."

You couldn't stop a smile from spreading across your features. You rested your forehead against his and for a moment, the droning of the music and the whirl of people disappeared, leaving the two of you alone for the first time all night. Your breathing was in sync with his as you took advantage of the quiet, intimate moment.

A shout tore you from your daze. You and Toby jumped apart and he grabbed your hand protectively. A few of the Creepypastas had wandered to the edge of the forest, BEN among them, and were staring at a shambling, shadowy figure. You watched as the figure slowly crept closer to the gathering, never making a sound before collapsing into a trembling heap a few feet from the tree line. You dropped Toby's hand and gathered your skirts, dashing forward and skidding to a halt at the person's side. BEN gently rolled the man onto his side. He was breathing was labored and his long, black hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat. You knelt beside him and his eyes fluttered open to reveal bright, glowing red.

"(Y/N)?" The man whispered quietly and reached out for you. As he grabbed your hand, he lost consciousness.

"Who is he?" BEN asked.

"I... I don't know," you replied and glanced at Toby, who was kneeling at your side with a hand placed around your waist defensively. He had a strange, unreadable look on his face.