Love Is Strange 2p England x Reader

{3}

It had been two days, a weekend in fact, since you had seen Arthur. And when you returned to school on Monday, he was still out, which continued throughout the week. No one seemed to know what had happened. 'He must really be sick.' you thought. 'I hope he's okay...' You tried calling him but you only received his voicemail.

You went over to Oliver's bakery after that, asking him if he had actually gone home. Oliver said he had, but
you didn't believe him. If he had gone home, that would have meant he was okay, and you were sure he sure wasn't okay. You were worried now. Was it food poisoning? No, it couldn't be, Arthur would have told you something, and the symptoms shown that Friday didn't look like food poisoning. You even asked Alfred, but he didn't know anything.

"Artie would never miss a day of school." You remember him telling you. "You know he's had perfect attendance since grade 3? What a nerd." Based on that information, you knew something was up.

Why did Oliver keep denying? Did he do something to him? You pushed away that though. No. You knew Oliver. He was the kind, cheerful young man that ran a bakery all by himself almost, with a bit of help from his... Brother? Allen. But still, these questions required investigation, and you were going to deliver to that. No matter how nonsensical they here.

And so, after school on Tuesday, you decided to snoop a bit. If you had known earlier what a mistake that would be, would you have done it?

You peered inside the bakery- the lights were off, the chairs were on the tables. The door had a "closed" sign on it. Not many shops were closed at this time on a Tuesday. You tried the door- it was still open. The inside of the parlor was creepy in the dark; the colors didn't look bright or cheery, instead they looked... Out of place. That was the only way you could think to describe it.

The kitchen was even more unsettling in the dark. Everything shiny just looked dangerous, and it felt like there was always something behind you. The air seemed to get colder. You didn't belong back here. You heard voices, and quickly hid behind a counter. You let out the breath you had been holding- it was just Oliver and Allen talking to someone at the back door.

"So... You got the.... And... Shh, haha,... It's pretty, I mean like,...." You heard bits if the conversation. "I think- wait, is that.... Whoa, I didn't... Hey, buddy-"

It was hard to hear, so you decided to explore the basement and try to forget about whatever you had tried to year- it didn't seem that important.

The light switch didn't seem to work, so you walked down in darkness, leaving it for your eyes to adjust; your keychain flashlight hadn't been very useful anyway. The stairs were wooden- you tried to keep from making too much noise. It smelled odd- there was the usual musty basement smell, and something else.. like metal. Going down the railing, it felt slick at the end.

Your eyes started to adjust to the darkness like you had predicted. You could make out boxes- cardboard boxes, all over the place. You assumed it was a small storage room. But then you saw a shape reminiscent of a barber's chair. You heard the hum of a refrigerator. You almost tripped over a metal cart; there was a plain wooden chair near it.

Then you heard a moan.

"Is... Is someone-"

"Oh my god, Arthur, is that you?" You whispered cautiously. The voice had come from the chair. Was he-

"(Name)? Oh, (name), it is me!" Arthur exclaimed in a whisper. He began wriggling, the synthetic leather if the chair squeaking. "Please, please you have to get me out, (name), you have to, before-" he froze.

"Arthur! Oh, you're okay, oh don't worry, I'll help- are you strapped in here? What the hell- wait, why'd you stop?"

"He- (name), (name), you have to go, now. I- you shouldn't come back. I'll be okay, okay?" Arthur said franticly.

"What's wrong? Who's keeping you here? Is it that delinquent Allen?"

"(Name), you gave to go now. I'll be okay. I wish I could tell you more, but I can't remember anything. Please, just go." His voice cracked at the end.

Suddenly, a loud creak broke the almost-silence. The basement door. A sliver of light shine through, getting bigger and bigger before disappearing with the slam of the door.

"(Name), oh you should've gone when I said, hide, hide now-"

You quickly ran behind a pile of boxes, and scrunched into a fetal position.

"My dearest Artie, are you talking to yourself now? You can't have been driven mad that quickly!" a cheerful English voice rang out.