Different

Surprise

Amy woke up to the smell of something burning in the kitchen and Chica barking, making her jump out of bed instantly alert and run into the kitchen.

Dark was muttering curse words under his breath as he dumped baking powder onto the flaming frying pan on the stove, blanketing the room in white. Chica was by his feet barking at the fire as if that would put it out.

"Sorry, I tried cooking breakfast and..." Dark trailed off with a sigh of defeat, glaring at the ruins of what Amy assumed was supposed to be scrambled eggs in the frying pan. Chica quieted down when she saw Amy and rubbed her head against Amy's leg. 

"It's fine, I can always pick up something." Amy assured him, glad that Dark wasn't purposefully trying to burn down the kitchen while she slept.

"Mark knew how to make eggs, so I thought I could try it." Dark ran a hand through his hair in exasperation.

"You have Mark's memories?" Amy whispered, her heart panging with the familiar feeling of heart break.

Dark didn't answer.

Instead, he took the frying pan and dumped its contents into the trash before washing the pan in the sink.

"Dark, tell me." Amy pleaded.

Dark hesitated before he finally looked Amy in the eyes.

"Yes. Every time he was afraid, every time he was heart broken, every time he experienced loss...everything." Dark swallowed hard before looking away and busying himself by taking out the trash.

Amy wanted to apologize for dredging up bad memories, even though they weren't his, but he was already out the door before she could open her mouth.

A minute later she heard someone knock on the door.

Amy jogged over and cracked the door open to find Kathryn, Tyler, and Ethan standing in front of her.

"Hey guys!" Amy swung the door open wider and allowed them inside.

"Hey Amy!" Kathryn greeted her with a hug.

"Where were you yesterday?" Ethan asked as he sat down on her couch, the others following suite.

"We came here to see you yesterday and your car was here, but you weren't." Tyler chimed in, his voice tinged with concern.

"Yeah, I was just out walking." Amy lied, regretting that she had to.

"Hey Amy, I-"

Dark froze in the doorway with a box of donuts from Pikes Peak in his hands, his expression similar to one of a deer in the headlights of a car when his gaze landed on Amy's friends.

"Um...hello everybody." Dark waved awkwardly with one hand, balancing the box in the other.

"How the-what-how-" Ethan sputtered in confusion.

"Who the hell are you?" Tyler demanded as he shot off of the couch, rage flickering in his hazel eyes.

"Tyler-"

Dark was cut off when Tyler upper cut punched him in the jaw, causing his head to snap back with surprising force and make him drop the box on the floor.

"Guys, let me explain." Amy pleaded, gently touching Tyler's arm. Tyler reluctantly sat back down on the couch, glaring at Dark.

Dark rubbed his sore jaw where a dark purple bruise was already beginning to develop with a wince.

"I summoned and made a deal with a crossroads demon. Well, the king of them." Amy explained.

To prove her point, Dark changed his eye color from brown to pitch black in the blink of an eye.

"How?" Kathryn blurted in bewilderment.

"A ritual where I buried a box at a crossroad. I did it yesterday." Amy spoke quietly, watching her friends to see their reactions.

The silence that followed was deafening.

"What do you owe him?" Ethan finally broke the silence, his voice cracking slightly with emotion.

"He'll take my soul seven years from yesterday." Amy answered.

"Can't you exorcise him?" Kathryn interjected.

"I don't know." Amy admitted.

"You can, but I'll just come back in a different body." Dark spoke up.

"Holy water?" Tyler suggested.

Amy noticed Dark tense up, slight fear glittering in his obsidian eyes.

"I'll get it set up." Ethan stood up and started walking towards the bathroom.

Dark disappeared as soon as Ethan was out of sight.

"Where'd he go?" Ethan frowned, holding a bowl of water and a cross in his hands.

"I don't know." Amy repeated, glad that she actually didn't so she didn't have to lie again.

"Do you want us to wait here until he comes back?" Kathryn asked.

"Don't worry, I can take care of him." Amy shook her head.

"Just in case." Ethan placed the holy water back in the bathroom.

She waved goodbye to them as they left, leaving her by herself with Chica once more.

"Dark? They're gone now." Amy told Dark, even though he wasn't there.

"About time, I thought they were gonna kill me." Dark suddenly appeared in front of Amy.

"Sorry about that, they just want to help me." Amy sighed.

"You don't actually want to kill me?" Dark asked incredulously.

"You've been nothing but nice to me, so I don't see why I should." Amy shrugged.

"You still want donuts?" Amy scooped up the neglected box from the floor.

"Sure, I'm gonna wash up first." Dark informed her before walking into the bathroom.

Amy heard the sound of plastic clattering to the floor accompanied by the sound of Dark screaming as she sat the box down on the kitchen table.

Amy dashed onto the bathroom to find Dark curled up in a ball on the floor with the bowl full of holy water now empty beside him. The skin on his back was melting like the water was acid, the water burning through his shirt.

"Dark?" Amy knelt down by him, unsure of what to do.

"Your friends suck." Dark chuckled bitterly, the sound mirthless as he used the counter to help him stand. Through the holes in his shirt, Amy could see his skin bubble and burn red like a third degree fire burn.

"Ethan set up the holy water above the door." Dark scowled, kicking the bowl away.

"Sorry." Amy apologized lamely, retreating to her room to bring Dark new clothes.

After he had changed into the Darkiplier charity sweatshirt, jeans, and red tennis shoes Amy gave him, Dark sat at the table and watched Amy eat.

"You not hungry?" Amy mumbled around a mouthful of food.

"Demons don't need sleep or food." Dark shrugged.

After breakfast, Amy mindlessly watched tv in her room while Dark bandaged his back before joining her.

Lunch and dinner were the same, Dark being unusually quiet all day.

"Are you okay?" Amy finally asked him after they had a silent dinner of pizza Amy had delivered from Pizza Hut.

"You're going to let your friends exorcise me, aren't you." Dark stated like it was a fact instead of a question.

"Why would I?" Amy frowned.

"I'm a demon." Dark scoffed like the answer was obvious.

"Doesn't mean that you're a monster." Amy comforted him.

Dark chuckled, the sound confusing Amy.

"You really are so different." Dark smirked for the first time all day.