Pigment (Millard Nullings X Reader)

Hide & Seek Champ

It wasn't until I already finished getting ready for the day, that I remembered that Millard and I weren't studying in town today. Just suddenly remembering this really brought me down, because I was looking forward to it, but Millard seemed so persistent in not working today, which was strange for him. I wonder if he was feeling okay....

I made my way to the dining room, to find Emma talking to Bronwyn about something. When she saw me, Emma smiled, and waved for me to come over. I suddenly wished I wasn't dressed just in jeans and a t-shirt, since they always dressed appropriately for the day.

"Good morning, (y/n)," Emma greeted me with a smile. "Are you okay? You seem off."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just forgot that I have nothing to do today," I told her honestly.

I swiped her bowl of cereal, and grabbed a spoonful of the contents. Not the best food, but better than nothing. Emma didn't even bother to get it back from me. And she kept smiling really wide. Was.... Was she okay?

"So, Olive and I were planning a game of Hide and Seek today, if you wanted to play," Bronwyn suggested. "And we tend to try and use our abilities, which always ends up being exciting."

"It's all fun and games until you find Fiona stuck in the highest branches of a tree, and you have no way of tagging her out," Emma complained.

A game full of peculiar children trying to hide from one another? It actually sounded fun, plus I could see how far I could stretch my abilities. I didn't see a reason why not to play.

"Yeah, I'll join," I said, and gave Emma her bowl of food back. "What time will you guys start?"

"Meet us in the backyard in an hour, and we'll see how many people we can get before then," Bronwyn explained. "Emma, will you be playing?"

"You better believe it!" She said, giving us a wicked glare.

That meant she must have had a plan, and I became very scared. But it didn't matter, since I already planned never to go against her in anything. Perhaps she was going to light a fire in one of the fireplaces, and stand in it until someone finds her. They couldn't tag her out, anyways, unless they wanted to die.

I waved goodbye to both of them, and went into the kitchen to make myself some breakfast. I wondered whether or not Millard would play, and if he even hide at all, during the said game.

It wouldn't be fair to the seeker to find him, unless he decided to show himself off. But knowing Millard, he would find some clever way to exploit the seeker into finding everyone else first, before finding him.

I made myself a bowl of whatever-the-heck Emma was eating, and made my way back to the dining area. I sat with the two girls, and talked to them about battle strategies in Hide and Seek. Just by hearing Emma say 'Let's make a plan' told me that this was going to be fun. And involve constant fear.

* * *

When I made it to the back garden, an hour after learning about the event, I felt my jaw drop.

Every single one of Miss Peregrine's wards was circling around Bronwyn, chatting excitedly about what might happen. I hoped that Heather might have been there, too, since everyone else was, but she seemed to have disappeared. It didn't matter, however, since I found Millard soon after.

I was right about him having to figure out a way that people could see him, since he wore a simple button-up, trousers, and his infamous Newsies-styled hat. He waved at me, and I assumed that was my invitation to go over to him.

"I'm surprised that almost everyone came," I said, while I scanned the crowd. "Even Horace Somnusson is here!"

"Hide and Seek is a big thing around here when they allow peculiarities," Millard explained. "Normally we end up playing Raid the Village instead, but Bronwyn seems determined to play this game smoothly, so we'll see how that goes."