Through Heaven or Hell (William Macbeth X Female Reader)

Normal Girl

(Y/N) was surprised to find that Will was the one who made the first move. That William - oh, she didn't know his last name, she realized - Whatever-his-last-name-was was the one who asked her on a friendly outing.

'Friendly outing.' Those were Will's words exactly - a friendly outing.

(Y/N) didn't want to admit it, but she found the phrasing a bit endearing, in that awkward, uncertain way of Will's.

(Y/N) had responded with a wry text, saying, 'a date. you can call it a date, man'

Will had gotten even more flustered in response to that. (Y/N) grinned at the memory of his typed gibberish before a reluctant, 'I guess you could call it a date....' was shot her way.

She didn't tell Will about her uneasiness regarding being out for so long. She didn't tell him about the fact that she was unwell. She didn't tell him that being outside for so long would cause another flare, most likely.

She didn't tell him any of that.

Because, damn it, (Y/N) (L/N) wanted to be a normal girl for one day and go on a date with a cute, if slightly awkward, boy. She wanted to have normal, teenager problems. She wanted to have that awkward moment where you didn't know whether you'd get a kiss or a hug at the end of a date and she wanted to have fun.

Was that too much to ask?

It is. It is, and you know that, a voice whispered in the back of her head. Nothing ever goes right. We all know that. Stop trying. Just accept your fate.

(Y/N) grit her teeth. Shut up. Shut up, shut up, shut up! she screamed back at that stupid voice.

She was going to make this work. She was going to have one last normal thing in this godforsaken city, in this godforsaken body that was shutting down on her.

Tugging her sleeves over her fingers, (Y/N) studied her appearance in the mirror curiously. It was odd, seeing just how normal she could look on any given day. Just looking at her, nobody could see the pain that was rooted deep in her muscles or the constant iron tang of blood on her tongue. Nobody could see the abandonment, the guilt, the misery and terror that plagued her from day to day.

A sharp grin filled her reflection's face.

Everyone's too wrapped up in their own secrets that they don't bother to understand the people around them. Can't see that everyone has this deep, dark secret that can destroy the world. She scoffed, shaking her head. The (Y/N) in the mirror copied her movements perfectly.

Those people were ridiculous. As if the fact that someone once dropped an M-80 down Aunt Dottie's chimney would destroy the world.

No, it wouldn't. But (Y/N)'s secrets definitely could.

She rolled her shoulders and tried to clear her thoughts. Now was definitely not the time to think about that fateful day three years ago. It was putting her off from her previously content mood.

Puffing out her cheeks in a low exhale, (Y/N) checked her pockets for her wallet and phone one last time. Satisfied, she zipped up her jacket and strolled over to the door. Her eyes roved over her apartment even as her heart thrilled in her chest.

She was procrastinating now and she knew it.

It wasn't because she didn't want to go out the date - er, friendly outing - with Will. Quite the opposite, in fact!

But it didn't stop the anxiety that tightened her throat.

(Y/N) had never officially gone on a date with anyone before. Not officially. There was that one lizard guy, but Leo was hanging out with her the entire time. Then there was that other time where a guy flirted with (Y/N) at a bar, but she didn't count that either - she'd been too busy trying to keep an eye on Zapp. He promptly tried to leave with another woman that had way too many tails and more than a little determination to take his money.

(Y/N) vaguely remembered blowing up a building to help Zapp out - unwillingly help him out, she may add.

Yikes. She'd forgotten about that.

The point was that she was anxious. She was scared she was going to somehow mess it up.

Argh! she yelled at herself silently. Just go! Friendly outing - not a date. He said friendly outing. You said date. So he just thinks of it as friendly. Hells.

(Y/N) hated her thoughts. Sometimes she wished she could just scream at herself and beat herself up.

Shaking her head, she hunched her shoulders forward as she made her way down her apartment complex. (Y/N) valiantly tried to clear her thoughts as she made her way to their pre-determined destination, but it didn't do anything to keep the blush from her cheeks.

The moment she took a step outside, however, the blush turned into the reddened flush of her body trying to stave off the cold air. Not that her body was doing her any favors right now - the cold was cutting through her like she were a sheet full of holes.

Teeth chattering, the sharp clack of her footsteps, and the roar of her blood in her ears were the only sounds that filled (Y/N)'s world as she attempted to keep her shivering under control. This 'normal' day wouldn't remain as such if she ended up passing out again.

Hey! Maybe quit thinking about that? That might help.

The rest of the walk down to the park was uneventful - which was an event in and of itself. In Hellsalem's Lot, one grew to expect wild catastrophes. Without them... it felt strangely blank.

(Y/N) smiled slightly at the thought. Since when had she started thinking that peace and quiet was unsettling?

A loud explosion rocked the ground beneath her feet as a flare of heat washed over her.

Ah.

Since that was common-place, apparently.

(Y/N) pivoted slightly to get a good look at what was going on behind her. Mild curiosity tugged her gaze behind her like a magnet.

Instantly, she was met by a stray piece of rubble flying straight towards her face.

Uh oh.

Throwing herself to the ground, (Y/N) felt something sting across her cheek. A couple small droplets of blood splattered on the ground near her hand.

Bile rose in her throat as she saw gold and silver flecks in her blood. It was more metallic than truly red.

That's bad. That's really bad.

"Hells," (Y/N) hissed under her breath. She scrambled through her pockets, looking for a bandaid or a tissue - anything to stem the discolored and mottled blood coming from her cut.

She pressed her palm against the cut with another low hiss. "Why today, of all days?"

Her eyes flashed up once more, searching the street in front of her. A sigh of relief left her as she recognized Angelique's flower shop - I didn't even know I was this close - and she weakly pushed herself up to her feet.

Sorry, Will, (Y/N) apologized silently, stumbling forward to her friend's workplace and home, I'm going to be a little bit late.

(A/N): let's be real here: i keep forgetting about this fic. oops. sorry?

anyways, i promised my friend that i'd try and finish this before the end of the year, and... well, i have started up working on it again. plans for this have changed, so chances are that i'll finish this and move on from there

this is also getting to the length of an actual book, so yay! i am so sorry for all of you guys that come across this. this is.. of significant length lmao. and i already have the next part almost done, so maybe i'll post that soon. after three months of silence, i actually post twice in one day. hm. sounds like me tbh

yep, so there's that! as always, votes and comments are not only appreciated, but treasured, and keep being cool!