𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 (yandere x reader)

FOUR ─ [ . : ｡✿ ] carnations

"Here," he said, stepping closer and offering his hand for her to grab onto. "Let me help you up." Once she took hold of his hand, he pulled her up, and she released another faint groan.

"I'm alright, mostly just bruised my pride," (Y/N) assured him with a wry laugh. As she stood up straight, she winced. "...And my back, apparently."

Elijah looked at her, confused and slightly concerned. "What happened?"

"Ah, well," she said. "You see, I was putting up my little vines──  don't they look cute, by the way? Anyway, there were some spots that were a little up there, y'know, so I got this chair..." She glared down accusingly at the chair laying on its side, as if blaming it for her fall──  or falls, rather. "And it's a little wobbly, but I was doing great. But then suddenly I was not doing great, and the chair wobbled a little too hard, and I fell..."

Elijah nodded slowly. "And the second time?"

"Damn, you heard the second one too, huh?" She sighed. "I was standing back up, and I... tripped on the chair."

"I see," he said, fighting back a smile. It was funny as hell, but he didn't want to embarrass her further. "Can I ask, are you always this clumsy?"

"I prefer the term 'balance-challenged' but y'know, whatever floats your goat, I guess."

"...Do you mean whatever floats your boat?"

"No, no I do not."

Elijah chuckled softly. "Alright, well, since you are... 'balance-challenged' as you put it," he smiled, clearly amused, "I think it's best I help you finish up, yeah?"

She smiled and nodded. "That would be very much appreciated, thank you."

"No problem," he said. "Now, since this chair has proven to be a bit of a hazard, I'm just gonna..." He picked it up. "Put it back over here..." He slid it under the desk. "And I will take care of the places you can't reach. Sound good?"

"Yeah, that's probably for the best," (Y/N) admitted sheepishly.

Elijah nodded. Using her as a guide, and as someone to hold the tape until he was ready for it, he slowly put up the rest of the vines. With the high ceilings, it was a little tricky at times. But, although Elijah wasn't nearly as tall as Silas, he was still quite a bit taller than (Y/N). He worked carefully on the higher bits, and continued on until it was completed.

As he finished up, (Y/N) began untangling the string of fairy lights. She sang along quietly to the music. Her voice definitely wasn't spectacular or exceptional in any way, but Elijah couldn't help but feel comforted by the sound of her singing. It was simple and sweet-sounding, and it almost reminded him of a lullaby.

He finished with the ivy, and began helping her untangle the fairy lights. But it became apparent that it was not as easy as either thought it was. Every time either one of them got one part untangled, it seemed three more ended up tangled too.

The song playing ended, and another started──  Grow As We Go by Ben Platt. (Y/N) perked up immediately. "Aww, I love this song."

"I don't think I've ever heard it," Elijah remarked.

(Y/N) hummed. "Well, I don't know if it's your thing, but it's very sweet."

"And what would be my thing?" He retorted lightly.

"I don't know, you just dress all edgy and grunge and scary," (Y/N) laughed with him. "You just look like you only listen to, like, death metal or something, I don't know."

"Well," Elijah grinned. "I will have you know that, most of the time, I actually prefer slow love songs."

"Really?" Her surprise was evident.

"Yes, really." He playfully rolled his eyes. "Don't judge a book by its cover. I happen to think that love songs are just really beautiful. And there's nothing more worth writing about than love." He shrugged.

"Well," (Y/N) smiled. "I will never assume anything about you again."

Elijah chuckled. The two sat in a comfortable silence for a little while, just working to untangle the seemingly unending string of lights together.

'This is nice,' (Y/N) thought to herself. 'I'm glad these guys have all been so sweet.' She'd been hoping to get along with her new roommates, especially after how her last living situation ended. She hated any kind of tension and confrontation a lot, but everyone here seemed really nice and chill. Even Naoki, for all his unending attempts at flirting, had made her laugh and feel more comfortable than she'd expected. She was glad it looked like they could all be friends.

After a moment, Elijah broke the silence. "At this point, I feel like I'm just making this mess worse," he chuckled wryly.

(Y/N) hummed in agreement. She set the section of lights she'd been working on down, and listened to the music for a second. An idea struck her. She stood up──  slowly, because of her sore back── and reached out her hand. "Dance with me."

"What?"

"C'mon, dance with me," she repeated. "We could use a break. We've been working at this for almost an hour now." She smiled. "Besides... life's too short not to dance just for fun."

Elijah hesitated for a moment, before grabbing her hand and standing. He was unsure of where to put his hands, not wanting to make her uncomfortable, so he settled on the middle of her waist. She put her hands on his shoulders, and they slowly swayed to the music.

❛ you won't be the only one
i am unfinished, i've got
so much left to learn
i don't know how this river runs
but i'd like the company
through every twist and turn

ooh, who said it's true
that the growing only
happens on your own?
they don't know me and you . . . ❜

"This is a really beautiful song," Elijah admitted quietly.

"Right!" (Y/N) agreed happily. "His voice is just... Ah, it's so pretty."

Elijah hummed. He looked at her, and suddenly found it strangely difficult to meet her gaze. Usually, he was strong and confident and... well, fearless. Nothing made him scared. He was untouchable. But in this moment, dancing with (Y/N) to a love song... he felt nervous.

❛ you don't ever have to leave
if to change is what you need,
you can change right next to me
when you're high, i'll take the lows
you can ebb and i can flow,
and we'll take it slow
and grow as we go . . . ❜

He told himself it was just the music. Or the position they were in. He told himself that this growing feeling of warmth in his chest could all just be chalked up to the moment. Nothing more, nothing less. It wasn't real, it didn't mean anything. He would feel this way with anyone, and as soon as they stopped dancing, he wouldn't feel it anymore.

❛ i don't know who we'll become
i can't promise it's not written in the stars
but i believe that when it's done
you're gonna see that it was better
tha we grew up together

tell me you don't wanna leave
'cause if change is what you need,
you can change right next to me
when you're high, i'll take the lows
you can ebb and i can flow
and we'll take it slow
and grow as we go, oh
grow as we go
grow as we go, oh
grow as we go . . . ❜

But the song ended. And another came on. They pulled away, slowly. And the feeling in his chest didn't go away. He raised his gaze, looked into those beautiful (E/C) eyes, and the feeling still wouldn't go away.

Elijah had always been fearless. But here, in this moment...

He was terrified.