ONESHOTS ⊳ gavin reed x reader

[Spooked and saved]

Inspired by a prompt fresh_breezy suggested
In which you go to a haunted house with your friend.
[I'm not entirely happy with how this turned out, but I still think it's somewhat acceptable, so I'm posting it regardless. The real spoopy special that I'm happy with is going to be uploaded on halloween.]

"I'll just...wait outside." You insisted, tugging on your friend's sleeve. "Please?"

They only shook their head and smiled wolfishly as the people in waiting in front of you lessened. "Nope. You're going. No buts."

You could hear screams and laughs from inside the haunted house, and watched the exit to your right, looking at as many faces as you could register at once. No-one seemed to be scared or something of the sort, but then again, you did see relief on a lot of people's faces.

To make it short: haunted houses weren't your cup of tea. But then again, it was Halloween after all.

"It's gonna be fun, you big crybaby." Your friend insisted as they presented the tickets to the man beside the entrance, then proceeded to pull you inside.

Clutching your friend's hand for dear life, you walked through a dark corridor, where lights flashed from time to time, blinding you, accompanied by sudden, ear-splitting, strident sounds. While you did flinch the first time, it wasn't as effective the second time it happened.

You could do this. You could do this.

"See? Not so bad." Your friend concluded after the corridor had ended, leading you into the next room. "Think you can let go of my hand?"

Reluctantly, you did as they asked, trying not to linger.

You could do this. It's just a haunted house, not the end of the world.

"C'mon." They urged and nodded to the next room, entering fearlessly.

You followed, already feeling your knees buckle below you as soon as you had entered.

The hallway was empty.

Your friend? Nowhere to be seen.

Shit. Shitshitshitshitshit-

You bit your lip, trying to stifle any sort of sound. If you were quiet enough, no-one would even know you're here, right? Right. Right.

You swallowed thickly, your mouth feeling somehow...cottony, heart drumming against your sternum and skull.

You could do this. It's all fake. It's just a show. Nothing but a facade, every monster in here is just a person in a costu-

You tripped over something, stumbling forward onto the floor, managing to catch yourself on your hands and knees.

And almost screamed when a wall right beside you bursted open, a huge puppet jumping outside of the hidden space, almost falling over you.

You screamed your lungs out, collapsing to your side as the object disappeared back inside the space.

It took you a few solid seconds to recollect yourself. "Just a puppet. Just a puppet." You told yourself over and over again, hoping to encourage yourself in a way you couldn't exactly understand.

Fuck. Jesus Christ, you had to get out of there.

You had forgotten about any form of reason, legs shaking as you tried to get up by propping a hand against the wall.

Completely failing to remember it was the fake wall that would slide away to reveal the puppet again.

You almost fell inside the space, only for your arm to be caught by something.

You looked behind yourself, your eyes meeting with green, corpse-like skin, blood red eyes with wide pupils, and a scarred, bloodied face.

You couldn't even breathe, much less scream. Suddenly, the puppet seemed welcoming, compared to this. Compared to an actual fucking zombie gripping your arm and staring you down. You moved to punch his jaw, yet he was quick enough to catch your fist in his other hand.

"Jesus Christ, calm down." The monster urged, voice velvety and calm.

And that's when you remembered: this was a human person. A guy with some SFX make-up and contact lenses. You drew in a shaky breath, relaxing in his grip and letting your fist fall. Shit, you had almost punched a harmless guy.

"You don't look ok. Wanna get outta here?" He asked, and you nodded.

His grip on your forearm loosened and he let go. You found yourself rushing to catch his wrist and hang onto it for dear life as he guided you outside through a door that had the sign "Authorized Personnel Only" written on it. You could've sworn you saw him smirk, but then again, it could've been the dim lights playing tricks on your eyes.

You squinted when you were outside again, struggling to adjust to the sunlight. Your heart was still pounding against your chest, yet your pulse was slowly subsiding from your head. You looked down at your hands, only to realize they were still shaking, and one of them was gripping his wrist. Swallowing in shame, you rushed to let go of him. You had exited through some sort of backdoor, you concluded, because the entrance queue was nowhere to be seen.

"I gotta say, out of all the people I've seen having a panic attack, you're the first one to try and punch me." He chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at you with a wolfish smile. He didn't look so bad in the sunlight. The light green foundation was crumbling away from his face in some places, hinting at a stubble on his jaw, and the contact lenses he wore were rather bad quality, forcing him to have to blink slowly.

"Sorry." You mumbled.

"I've had tougher enemies than someone on the verge of a panic attack, don't worry." He laughed through his nose. "Feeling any better?"

"Yeah. Thanks." You nodded your head.

"No offense, but...Why'd you even think going into a haunted house was a good idea?"

"I was...um...I was with a friend." You explained half-heartedly, and, speak of the devil, your phone started vibrating just then.

I think I lost u in the haunted house. U ok?

"So they ditched you?" He cocked a brow skeptically.

"No, I lost them." You answered and pocketed your phone, catching him staring at it almost tentatively.

"What's your name?"

"(Y/n)."

"Gavin." He gave you another cheeky smirk, then reached to the back pocket of his costume, pulling out his phone. "Hey, uh, would you mind exchanging numbers? Just in case you ever need someone to save you from a puppet again."

"As long as you don't show up dressed as a zombie, sure."

"And as long as you don't try to punch me again."