•E/C: Eye Color

•Y/N: Your Name

•H/C: Hair Color

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A thin stem twirls between shaking fingers as E/C eyes stare blankly at the velvety, burgundy petals that turn crisp at the ends. The flowers had not been watered due to their position on the floor, yet their color is still fresh and vibrant, their scent still strong and fragrant. Y/N could not comprehend the softness of the mattress beneath her or the sturdiness of the headboard at her back. The room is silent. She could not hear the sound of her mother and father speaking softly in their room with worry for their daughter.

She had returned home in tears, slammed the door shut and locked it regardless of her past fear of having it closed. She spoke not one word to them even when they came knocking at her door, claiming to have left her dinner outside of it. It still sits there, untouched and cold. She was not hungry. Again, the black dahlia is twirled subconsciously.

There was no thoughts forming in her head. She hardly even blinked, just stared at those bloody red petals. The lamp on her bedside table flickers at the stroke of midnight, but the light remains. Her room was not plunged into darkness as it usually would when that damn creature comes. She could see him stepping out from the shadows in the corner of her eye, but did not react.

She did not look his way or hide. She remains twirling the thin stem of that flower in her delicate hands that subconsciously shake regardless of her emptiness. The horned beast stares at the girl, noting her blank expression and lack of response as he watches from the corner of the room. It was done. The mouse had squeaked her last squeak.

She had broken. Black, clawed feet travel across the floor with soft clicks, approaching the bed, but there was still nothing from Y/N when he stops at her bedside, hovering over her smaller form. There was no words from either for a good while, yet the creature did not move. He waited, waited and waited some more until, at last, those chapped lips parted and released a quivering breath.

"Black dahlias," she whispers in a hoarse voice as her eyes glaze with tears. "They mean betrayal," she mutters slightly louder in the same scratchy voice, wanting him to hear what she had said. The Boogeyman breathes deep.

"Do they?" He asks softly, voice cracking slightly against his will, his white eyes shifting over to the flower. The atmosphere, it was so tense it unnerved even him. "I only got them because I thought they looked beautiful. The irony." With a silent sob Y/N curls up and crushes the flower to her chest, causing a few of the petals to fall onto her lap as she sinks down into a fetal position, her back to her terrorizer.

She clings to that flower even though it was him who gave it to her, for it showed her just how blind she had been. All along... All along, her protector was her predator. The sight struck a nerve in the creature's chest, so he looks away, meeting the eyes of his reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall. The black fluid lining his shiftable bones drip down, covering his teeth and creating a curtain over the white orbs, shutting them. The goo solidifies, adjusting to the features of a human male with pale skin and hollow cheeks. Eyelids open to reveal silver eyes and see their thin lips pulled into a deep frown in the reflection. Nimble fingers grip the back of a chair that sat in front of a small desk in the room and drag it over to the girl's bedside. Pilvrich sits upon the seat, finding it somewhat hard, but not uncomfortable, and hunches his back to lean forward and grip his hands.

"Little one, please, look at me." Trembling hands grip the sheets as her teeth grit and tears stream down her cheeks.

"D- Don't you ever fucking call me that again." She would've screamed that in his face, but her throat felt too raw, and she simply couldn't turn around to look at him. Another sob escapes her as her hands raise up to cover her ears and rip at her hair. Her heart ached painfully in her chest, for she couldn't believe she had actually cared for that beast for a time. No... Not cared.

Cared is too simple a word. It did not convey the truth of how she felt. She trusted him... She loved him. She let those arms wrap around her and steal her heart, allowed his voice to feed her comforting words, believed every lie he told. "Are you happy now?" she questions quietly, causing his thin brows to scrunch as his grip on his hands strengthen.

It was a distraction from the pain in his chest, but not enough to quell it. He could not answer her. There was nothing he could say. His throat ran dry. "You're a fucking monster. Why can't you just go away? Haven't you done enough to me? Aren't you satisfied yet?" Her quiet words blend with heavy sobs as her body quakes, vibrating the entire bed.

Pilvrich lowers his head, causing long strands of black hair to dangle around his face like a curtain. His silver eyes widen at the sight of a broken dream catcher in front of his shoes. The strings and feathers ripped apart, crushed like all the other flowers that circle the bed. His breath hitches and his insides felt hollow as he reaches down to take it into his hands, being carefully of it's fragile state so that it doesn't break any further. He really had thought of her when he got it and was delighted by her reaction to the gift, but now, it means nothing to her. All it is now is garbage. Broken garbage.

"E- E- Everything I thought was g-going to protect me ended up fake. I c-c-can't believe I actually fell for it." Her words were barely above a whisper, for she was not speaking to him, but scolding herself for being so stupid.

"Contrary to what humans believe, beings like me cannot be vanquished with mere trinkets, salt, or holy water." Looking over to the right, his gaze falls onto the silver cross on the nightstand. Transferring the dreamcatcher into one hand, his other reaches towards it to caress the smooth metal. "And, crosses do not scare us off. You believed because that is what all humans believe." His eyes then land on her. "I wish to speak with you."

"Go away. You're... You're the awfullest thing in this whole g-goddamn world, you know that? You've done the most horrible shit to me and just... just when I think it can't get worse you... you..." tears fall from her eyes and she wished to scream; instead, she pulls a blanket over her head and curls up on her side. He can hear her sobs clear as day from beneath the fabric. Teeth sink into the flesh of his lower lip, sprouting black liquid from the false wound, as he bows his head.

Glancing up again, he reaches out towards the blanket while rolling the chair closer to the bed. Slowly, he lifts the covering, revealing the trembling girl underneath whose hands tugged at H/C strands. She flinched and squeezed her eyes shut, shedding endless tears. She flinches and holds her breath when gentle fingers move the hairs that cling to her wet face. Sharply, she turns her head to hide her face against the pillow only for a hand to slip under her cheek and force her to look up at the frightening beast in human guise. He gave her no opportunity to struggle against him when he bent down and kissed her head, sending the girl straight to sleep against her will. He would speak to her whether she wanted to or not.

At first, it was dark until a warmth washed over her, and her heavy lids pry open to reveal a room with deep grey-blue walls and black marble floors. The silver flecks in the dark floor reflect the dim light shining down from the three, silver chandeliers that hang from the high ceiling. Though it didn't look like a ceiling at all— rather, a stormy sky full of dark grey clouds that move around in a slow, yet mesmerizing, fashion. The walls are lined by towering marble columns that blend into the floor, and between each is a mirror beautifully framed in silver. She finds herself seated in a padded chair, facing a semi-long table dressed in a grey-blue table runner.

There were no plates, food or drink set out. The table was practically empty, save for a few unlit candlesticks. She paled at the sight of her tutor sitting in the chair at the far end of the table and immediately tried to get up only to be bound by the wrists and ankles. The leather restraints kept her still, but they weren't too tight either. "Let me out!" she screams while trying to rip herself out of the chair, causing the monster to sigh.

"Not until you listen to what I have to say. Now, settle down or I'll make you," he threatens with a low growl that made her freeze. Y/N breathes heavily, her eyes full of tears, and she does her best not to move. Immediately, the creature's silver eyes soften, and he has to look away before starting, resting his chin on the palm of his hand.

"I realize you likely aren't going to believe me, but things have changed. When I first met you, you were nothing — just a new toy to play with and torment, but now..." his hand travel up his stomach to his chest, where a heart lies, pounding softly. "I don't fully understand it, really. I don't want to do that anymore, not with you, anyways." Y/N's eyes narrow as she shakes her head frantically, wishing to block her ears.

"Stop it... Just stop it... You aren't going to trick me again." Her voice was quiet and broken. It made his heart clench. Growling softly, his hand clutches his shirt tightly before he looks at her, finding her head lowered so that she couldn't look at him. He continues, knowing she's only going to refuse that he's telling the truth.

"I don't expect you to forgive the things I've done to you. I don't believe that, with the snap of my fingers, you'll come to enjoy my company. No, I know what happens to the people I torment — What goes on in their heads. I never thought I'd end up like this, caring for a feeble creature, like you, in any sense. Had I not come up with the idea to disguise myself as human, I likely would've carried on, killed you off and turned your flesh inside out," he sighs,

"But as Pilvrich, I saw a side of you that was... different. You smiled, you laughed. You were happy... with me. I told you many lies, made up stories, sure, but over time, that man became a part of me. I don't know why exactly. Perhaps, it's because I've never caused a smile to appear on anyone's face before because I preferred screaming and the pure terror that would etch upon a person's face just by showing my true form. I thought the feeling would pass, but it only grew stronger. I like this other side of you, and it made me feel good knowing you depended on me for safety, even if it was against myself. I'm not saying I love you or any of that garbage, but I have developed a fondness and... and no longer desire to destroy your mind. Y/N, I'm going to set you free. From now on, you won't have to fear my dreams. I swear that to you." Her shaking hands clench into fists as tears drip onto her legs. She felt sickened by his words. She hated how sincere he sounded and didn't believe a single bit of it. She wouldn't. He's a liar, a monster, and that is all he'll ever be.

"S- Shut up! All you've ever done is twist my thoughts around, m-making me think I was safe when I was actually just playing another stupid game!" Her breath hitches as sobs flee her lips, which filled him with the urge to hold and comfort her. It became instinct by that point. "Pilvrich" would have done it, but he also knew what her reaction would be if he did. It'd only be worse.

"That's right. I won't deny any of that. I don't wish to take back the damage I inflicted. As I said, at the start, you were nothing nothing to me, and I am a monster who takes pleasure in the pain of others. I enjoyed every second of what I did to you. I am not accustomed to these feelings, but I will not deny their existence. I know you won't ever trust me again, nor will you ever feel how I feel. I understand that completely, but I won't be leaving you, little mouse. Don't think for a moment that I plan to just release you, especially after this discovery." Her trembling worsened, vibrating the whole chair she sat upon violently.

"But, also, things will never be the same as they were before. From now on, your dreams will be more like this, peaceful and calm. No more running or screaming. Whatever you'd like. I can bend your imagination however you'd like. All I can give you is my word. Either way-"

"I... I'm stuck with you."