| Plaything | Antisepticeye x Reader

Chapter 19

I take a deep breath after closing the door behind me, resting my forehead against the cool wood. My stomach stops churning, and I turn to leave.

Finding Anti staring at me intensely, I jump back, wincing as I hit my head on the door. He takes a step forward, glitching a bit more than usual.

"Who was he?" the demon asks.

"Colum," I answer, deciding not to annoy him. "He's been my friend for a while."

"Why was he talking to you like that?"

"I– What?"

Anti slowly raises his hands, placing them firmly on either side of my head. "Why was he talking to you like that?"

"Nicely?" I ask.

Suddenly, Anti slams his hands onto the door, nearly cracking the wood, and causing me to flinch ever so slightly. "Why were you with him? Why was he treating you like that?"

Anti leans over me so that all I can see is his pale face. I feel his cold breath and watch his eyes for any signs as to what he's about to do.

"He was there, so we decided to eat together. And he was nice to me because we're friends..." I answer, getting increasingly bit nervous. He probably has a crush on me, I add to myself.

I feel a sickness in my stomach at his blatant anger towards my friend. The 'A' is glowing lightly, but I feel more worried by Anti's attitude. My uneasiness isn't put at rest by the furious, slowly blackening eyes of Anti.  I don't speak, worrying about my and Colum's life.

The demon leans forward and to my right. Anti's hands move lower, so that they're pressed against the door at waist-height. His lips gently graze the skin in the place where my shoulder blends into my neck as he harshly growls:

"Don't spend time alone with him again."

A shiver runs up my spine at the sensation of his rough skin and below-freezing breath. My entire body tenses with anxiety.

"Understand?"

I nod quickly, frightened by the intensity. He breathes heavily into my neck for a moment, seemingly attempting to calm himself. Then, suddenly, Anti stares me in the eyes with his psychotic smile.

"I don't think you want to know what'll happen if you're lying to me," he grins psychotically.

Then, he disappears. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and put my hand on my chest, sighing. Holy shit, I think. I begin to head upstairs, going to my room to unwind. I find myself opening my laptop and scrolling through YouTube. Still stressed, I move to the bathroom, filling the tub with steaming water and aromatherapeutic bubbles.

Sinking into the water, I feel my muscles immediately relax. I keep sliding down until the water rises to just underneath my nose. I've left just enough room for me to breathe, letting the therapeutic oils slow my rushing mind. Closing my eyes, I find myself in a state of half-lucidness.

I sit there for who knows how long. After finally opening my eyes, I find the water lukewarm rather than steaming. Grabbing a towel, I reluctantly rise from the water and make my way to my bedroom. Anti's odd behavior has me legitimately concerned.. Flopping onto my bed, I dry myself, then hurriedly toss on a pair of pajamas.

Feeling more exhausted than usual, I crawl under the blankets and pull them up to my chin. In this infantile position, I feel a bit safer. Soon, I fall into a semi-peaceful slumber.

Though no nightmares are gifted to me, I create my own. I sleep uncomfortably, worrying about Colum's safety a bit, but there's something else. Sleep comes to me in small doses. Most of the night I sit completely awake in bed, staring into the darkness. Finally, I sit up after about two hours of laying half-conscious.

I sigh, realizing that I'm probably not going back to sleep tonight. Running a hand through my hair, I sit up and lean against the headboard of my bed. My room is completely dark, not a light to see anything. In this darkness, my thoughts eventually turn to Anti and his threat.

He's pissed, that much is clear. It seems like he's trying to rid me of all social contact, altogether. Isolation is one of the quickest ways to drive a person insane. As long as he's angry, though, he's gonna be even more brash than he usually is, which isn't good for anyone's health.

A couple of hours pass while I wonder how to deal with Anti. When I finally pay attention to my surroundings again, I can see the very edge of the horizon beginning to brighten. Vague outlines of the objects in my room are hardly visible. I attempt to get up and stretch, then trip and fall because my legs have fallen completely asleep.

Note to self: Do not sit for hours at a time with one knee up to chest and one leg tucked under you, I think, groaning and waiting for my tingling legs to support me.

After a minute of absolutely still waiting, the pins and needles disappear and I stand. I walk downstairs and make myself a bowl of cereal without turning any lights on to avoid aggravating my sleep-deprived eyes. Then, I sit on the couch, bathed in the grayish early morning light shining through the large window.

A buzzing from my hip brings me back to reality. I pull my phone from the pocket of my sweatpants, and cringe at the name of the sender and the brightness of the screen. As I open Colum's message, I'm reminded of the punishment Anti had promised me for spending time with him.

Colum: hey, wanna hang out today? marius, claude, and i were gonna head out to the movies and i wanted to know if you wanted to join

I take a moment to respond, thinking over the proposition carefully. Despite Marius and Claude's presence, there's still the chance that Anti will be pissed. Then again, I can't let him dictate my life more than he already does, or I'll go insane.

Me: sure, why not

Colum: AWESOME. i'll tell them. meet you at the theater at 4

I close my eyes and massage my temples, hoping that I haven't just royally fucked everything up.

"Careful, [Y/N]~" a raspy voice sings from my left. Opening my eyes, I find the glitching demon leaning against the wall, gripping a knife menacingly. "Don't want your friend getting hurt, do you?"

"Other people are gonna be there. We won't be alone," I reply, rubbing my eyes. A restless night accompanied by Anti's blatant threats are not what I need today.

"Alright," Anti sighs, disappointed he doesn't get to mutilate Colum, "but you're on thin fucking ice."

I hope you enjoyed this chapter of "Plaything" as much as I enjoyed writing it. Comments and votes are super appreciated. Thanks for reading! ~Blue