A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

Eyes closed, she didn't know what to feel. Tears softly glided down her cheeks and ran into her (h/c) hair. Her fingers lightly tightened around the blanket over her. It hurt to move anymore. (F/n) had even noticed that her shirt and bra were gone, but she didn't scream or shout. She was too tired to do so; she was simply too weak, and the conversation in the main room didn't aid her.

If anything, it only increased her exhaustion. Her mind swirled around the information. Haley had wanted to capture her ever since she had received the call. The younger teen's niceness hadn't truly been there. She had been completely fooled by Haley, and she wondered if the rest of the town felt the same way.

Everyone understood that she was the creature's prime target. There was no hiding the fact that Nick and she had drawn the creature out of the tunnels. Nick had made the right choice in getting out of town as quickly as possible. A sigh, inaudible to most ears, parted from her. Probably everyone blamed her for the creature's terrorizing of the town.

Most had been kind to her. Some had kept their distance; some had given her hateful looks, but it hurt to know that all along Haley had harbored such plans for her. Everyone else who had been pleasant most likely felt the same. She wondered if even her parents possessed similar feelings.

Another few tears escaped her eyes. She hated how she couldn't even roll onto her side and curl up under the blanket. (F/n) wished to hide and disappear into the shadows for a little while. Her teeth bit her bottom lip softly to contain a sob. Loneliness tapped along her skin before it pierced her head and formed its domain there.

A cruel thought tugged at her mind. What about the creature? Almost, she was tempted to hit her head to knock out the idea, but she remained still. She had heard the creature, and it was clear that he had been defending her against Haley even though he understood that she kept no warm feelings for him.

When the creature's voice had lowered, her heart had seemed to stop. Her entire body had felt cold. It had been as though she had been under a blanket weaved of death's chilling breath. That moment, though, had only proved Haley's statement more. He was attached to her in a way that went beyond his need to have her as his partner.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone through all of the trouble to save and defend her. Such a realization concerned her, but it didn't cause her tears to halt. It only made them worse. Her parents gave her comfort and support, but she couldn't accept it fully. She had to deny it; she couldn't rely on them completely, or things would somehow become even more of a nightmare.

There was Nick. After the previous events, though, he might back out, or he might think that she's dead and stop. Still, he had left her soon after she had awoken in the hospital. He had gone to save his own skin, but she couldn't blame him. She would've done the same.

Truly, the only one who didn't leave her alone was the creature. That only crippled her more. She had never meant to capture his attention. In reality, it had probably saved her down in the tunnels. No, she knew that it had, but that didn't calm her sinking mind. Maybe, Haley was ... (F/n) shook her head lightly.

Haley was wrong; she had every right to live. She had battled her way out of the tunnels and won freedom briefly. Now, she only had to win the present fight against the creature. A small smile touched her lips. (F/n) went to wipe her tears, but the movement of her arms ached too much. They dropped back to the mattress gently, and her eyes opened.

"You have a right to live? What about Haley? You know what's happening in the other room. The creature is going to torture her. You heard that he's going to feed me to her, yet you lay there." Dean leaned against the wall to her right. His arms were crossed, and his hoodie was over his face some. "You sentenced her to death with your plan. You might as well be killing her right now.

"I think that you have no right to live. You're a pathetic excuse for a human. That's why you're so alone. That's why only that human-eating monster cares for you. Even your parents know you're the reason for the problems in the town; they're simply too polite to say otherwise. They want to lock you up somewhere so that they can return to a peaceful life."

That felt like a punch in her gut, but she didn't glance his way. She knew that she had a right to live, and she had worked too hard to drop that mentality. His words stung, and the part about her parents was ... probably true. Even if they kept quiet, she knew that she was a burden to them, but she would still save them. Another couple of tears dripped down her skin. Her eyes closed again.

Soft footfalls caught her attention. Here comes your lover. She didn't look over to Brent. Her eyes remained shut, and she bit her bottom lip again. Maybe, he would go away, but that was a useless hope. The footsteps stopped. Nails glided over her right cheek. Delicately, they caught a teardrop.

"I can tell that you're awake. There's no point in keeping your eyes closed." Steadily, she opened her eyes back up, but she stared to her left. She had noted that his nails were lifted to his eye level and a teardrop rested on his index finger. "How long have you been awake? I had only heard your sigh."

Hesitantly, she looked back to him. His eyes met hers. The seriousness in them caught her off guard. She didn't know if he would grow furious at her response, but there was something else that troubled her. There was the possibility that he was asking simply out of a caring nature. How the creature before her could ever posses such a feeling frightened her.

"Well? How much had you heard?" His eyes drifted back to the tear, and he licked it off slowly. The action made her stomach tighten. It was extremely unsettling since it was accompanied by his calm tone. Lowering his hand, he frowned. "Had it been everything?"

His nails fanned out, and his eyes shifted to them. Her lips parted. Nearly, she had moved to sit up, but the pressure on her hands raced up to her shoulders. Instantly, she gave up on the action. (F/n) peered up at him fully. "Why does it matter? Are you that worried?" She suspected that he wasn't concerned at all, but his expression and tone were only becoming harder to read.

"No, but I wish to know. I won't attack you regardless of your answer." A sigh escaped him. "I can't. You're much too fragile right now. You've lost a lot of blood, and I suspect that you had almost died. Even right now, you look like you're on the verge of death. You probably won't be able to move much for awhile, nor will I let you." She was about to argue, but he cut her off.

"It may seem like I'm punishing you, or I'm simply having fun, but I'm not. I can't have dessert for some time now, and that's utterly annoying." His right thumb pointed back to the main room. "I have to eat that disgusting garbage after that human male is finished." A light giggle returned to him. "Though, I do look forward to taking care of you too. We can have a bit of fun."

"Like I would ever have fun with you." She diverted her gaze away from him. If he wasn't going to harm her, she could insult him. Still, she dreaded what would await her. (F/n) understood that she was in no condition to perform even simple actions. Humiliation consumed the future, and her fingers gripped the sheets lightly again. "Are you really going to feed Dean to Haley, though?"

He giggled and crossed his arms. The creature leaned against the wall next to the headboard. "As much as I hate to waste my food on her, I think that it'll be worth it. I want her around for awhile anyway. I want to discover what her part in your plan had been. Until I learn that, she'll be kept alive. Did you hear more than that, though?"

Nausea tickled her stomach. She desired to stop him from feeding Dean to Haley, but she was in no condition. Even if Haley had tried to kill her, the creature was pushing it. Would she attempt to save Haley's life, though? No, she wouldn't. Her state of health wouldn't allow her, nor would the creature.

Even if those factors were out of the equation, there was the fact that Haley would probably take the opportunity to try and kill her again and again now. If she freed Haley, she would be asking for a knife in her back. There was also the truth that she had attempted to save Haley. She had tried to reason with the younger teen, but she hadn't accepted any of it. Simply told, Haley was past the point of rationality. A quick death would be the best option given the situation, but she comprehended that the creature would give Haley no such thing.

"I can't stop you, but I wish that you would just kill her." She released a sigh. The creature giggled some more. "And ... yes ... I know Haley's feelings now."

The creature didn't answer immediately. Instead, he pushed himself off of the wall. He stepped forward a bit and something crunched under his feet. She couldn't lift her head up enough to inspect what, though. "Then, what do you say?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's simple. Now, you know that I had saved you because you're my partner. You know my reaction to her words about you." He peered over his left shoulder at her. "What's your response?"