Madness for Two (Derek x Reader)

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A savory smell brought me slowly back to consciousness, cutting through my haze like a lighthouse on a foggy night. Prying my eyes open, I made out an odd scene that made me hesitate at what to do next. I was chained to the back wall again, sprawled out on the floor with a full tray of food laying in front of me, already making me salivate. In the distance, I noticed Derek lounging on the bed, browsing through his phone, not yet noticing that I was awake. I wanted to greedily shove the food into my mouth, but was fearful to do it without permission. With how it was placed, it was probably for me, but I wanted to be sure. I slowly moved to a sitting position, hissing at the pain that came even with the simple movement. I glanced at my injured leg, surprised to see that the wound was bandaged tightly with gauze. Finally noticing me, Derek shuffled to the edge of the bed, a smirk immediately rising to his face. "Well hello, sleeping beauty~" he purred before noticing me shyly eye the tray, "what're you waiting for? Eat!" With that comfernation, I lunged for the food, only processing its contents for a second before chowing down.

The tray was set up with a simple, but plentiful arrangement of different items to choose from; two grilled cheese sandwiches cut into triangles, a bowl of apple and orange slices, a sports drink and water bottle both chilled to the perfect temperature, and lastly a square of chocolate bursting with whole almonds. It was as if an angel heard my prayers and planned my last meal to perfection. In reality, it was almost certainly one of the staff who prepared it, but at that moment it felt the same. I shoved a piece of the sandwich into my mouth whole, barely chewing before swallowing. With the second slice, I began to take in just how wonderful it tasted, despite it looking so simple. The real cheese and butter danced across my tongue, followed by the rich texture of the fluffy bread. I almost felt guilty that I was wolfing such a delicious meal down so fast, but before I could feel bad, I realized that I was finishing the last slice. I cracked open the sports drink without wasting a second, chugging half the bottle down in one go. I sighed in content as I resealed the drink, finally hydrated and nearly full after being neither for so long.

In a clearer state of mind, I glanced around the room as I slowly started eating the fruit. I didn't notice it initially, but the room set-up was quite different from how it was before. Furniture that was once nearly in my grasp were now moved to the front of the room, or gone from the space all together. A few larger items were moved as well, most notably a few large trophies that used to sit on a shelf above the bed. My eyes drifted to Derek, who was seemingly preoccupied, strutting from one side of the room to the other, as if looking for something. He then walked into the washroom, loudly rustling through the cabinets before stepping out again. It was odd seeing him like this, double checking everything.

I finally got to the piece of chocolate, popping it into my mouth, letting it melt on my tongue to savor the taste. Noticing my empty tray, Derek sat back down on the bed, bringing his full attention to me. "Ok so, now that you're done, we're going to have a little chat," he started playfully, "I think we started off on the wrong foot, and for the benefit of both of us, I want to come to an agreement. Despite your little stunt yesterday, I'm pretty sure you would prefer to live, and frankly, I don't want you dying on me just yet. But, I also want you lively, like you were at the start. So, this is how it's going to go. I extended your chain, so now you can go to the bathroom whenever you need. I also told the staff to bring you food everyday. If you do the bare minimum, you keep these bare necessities. Buuuut, if you work hard, if you keep me entertained, I'll give you little prizes and stuff." My curiosity peaked at his last statement. "What kind of prizes?" I asked without thinking. Luckily, Derek seemed to enjoy that I was getting involved, his smile curling at the ends. "Little things, but stuff I think you'd really appreciate. Like...a set of your own clothes so you don't have to wear mine, TV privileges, a better place to sleep, whatever really, as long as I approve of it. For really good behavior, I might even let you choose what you get..." I couldn't deny that all of those sounded appealing, especially after coming to terms that I will be here for a while, but seeing Derek's sly smile made me think otherwise. "What counts as... good behavior" I questioned, knowing I probably wouldn't like the answer. "Ah, now we're getting to the fun part!" Derek chucked, bouncing on the mattress like a child, "basically, I want you cooperative, but not like a zombie. Doing what I say without causing any problems will get you the basics, but if you put energy into pleasing me, then that will get you the special stuff." I thought about his words carefully, soon realizing that he conveniently didn't mention what would happen if I didn't do what he says. It was pretty obvious though. Disobedience would almost certainly result in punishment. However, with this opportunity to ask questions, I decided to pry. "I thought you'd want me to fight against you, considering...everything before now." At my words, Derek's smile dropped to an annoyed look. "In a vacuum, I would. But now that my vacation's over, I have to get back to work. As it stands, I don't have the extra time or energy to struggle with you every time I wanna bang. So make my life easier, and we'll get along." I reviewed my options, only to find that I had none. This 'agreement' Derek offered was less of a discussion, and more of a formal explanation of the rules I'd be expected to follow regardless if I agreed with them or not. In short, this place is truly a prison, with similar rules to match.