To Rescue a Villain

Chapter 2

"What's your name? Do you have a family I can call?" Dark asked me as we walked down the street. Some of the people who passed us gave him a friendly wave or a funny grin which made it abundantly clear that this was a small town where everyone knew everybody.

As we walked, I couldn't help but focus on how warm his hand felt as it gripped my arm. He looked and felt so real and it was strange. It was similar to the sensation one felt when meeting a celebrity in real life, like the person belonged on a screen and was out of place in your world.

Clearing my throat and keeping myself focused on the present, I answered his question as clearly as I could. "My name's Mary. I...am an orphan." Saying that would be way easier than explaining that I came from an alternate reality where he was a villain in a made up world.

"Orphan, huh?" He smirked at that, finally showing part of that snarky personality he'd had onscreen. He was probably thinking about his own situation.

His father had died when he was young and his mother abandoned him on his grandmother's doorstep before disappearing. Based on his age right now, I would guess that he was still living with her now.

"Yeah. I...I don't really want to talk about it, if that's okay with you." Goodness, I was good at lying. Maybe I'd learned it from watching him.

"Sure. Whatever. Do you still want to go to the hospital or will you be okay?"

His actions didn't match his words since he was still holding my wrist.

"Um...No. I think I'm okay...though I don't have anywhere to go." It was true and I did my best to sound lonely and pitiable. My plan was that if he helped me, it would give me an opportunity to become an acquaintance of his and keep an eye on him.

If the universe was giving me this one chance to save him I was not going to throw it away no matter how many lies I had to weave.

"Oh. Sorry."

Ha! He didn't sound sorry at all. He was just trying to figure out what to do with me now. Well, I wouldn't let him off that easily. "What's your name?" I managed to ask, leaning toward him slightly as I spoke.

Dark raised an eyebrow, then chuckled. "Derek Hacket."

"What?"

"Hmm?"

Shoot! I should have kept my mouth shut. Of course Dark wouldn't be his real name. It wasn't even a cool name. Panicking, I tried to switch back to my calm personality but it was long gone. "O...oh. Cool."

My smooth demeanor had left me and was replaced with my natural awkwardness which I didn't want anyone to witness, especially my idol.

Words could not describe the calm I felt when he merely laughed quietly and turned away again, still grinning. "I guess. Mary's fine too...I guess."

There he went again, hesitantly being nice. After years of studying him I had a theory that he secretly wanted to act kind but was just too lazy or shy to do it. Seeing it in action now just made him seem even cuter...not that I cared about such things. I was just here to save him from his fate.

"I really hate to ask you but..." I had to do this or he'd leave and I might never get to see him again. I might even be sent back to Earth. "Would it be possible for me to stay at your house tonight? I don't have anywhere to go, you see, and..." As the words spilled out from between my lips I noticed my lisp start to reveal itself and clamped my mouth shut before I could embarrass myself further.

Now I just had to wait for his answer.

He clearly wanted to say no. There was no doubt about that. His lips were pressed together tightly and he was squinting, as though weighing the pros and cons. Then with the right side of his mouth curling upwards evilly, he nodded, releasing my arm at the same time.

"Sure. I'm sure my grandmother wouldn't mind."

My face lit up. "Really?" That was surprising.

"Of course." Still grinning, he gestured toward a small, wooden house at the end of the street and nodded at it. "But we only have two bedrooms and she doesn't like sharing."

"Oh, I can sleep on the floor," I interjected eagerly, thrilled that my plan was actually working. What were the odds?

"Good." Derek chuckled again before leading me forward. 

I might have acted thrilled as we walked but as soon as he chuckled like that, with such an evil grin, I started to feel suspicious. Why was he so willing to let me, a complete stranger, into his home? Once the thought popped into my head, I frowned. He was probably up to something. If it was anyone other than him, I would have booked it because of that. Curse my obligation to keep him safe!

His house looked more like a wooden shack with a picket fence and dying grass from the outside but, once he opened the door and led me inside, it looked more like an expensive home. All the walls were painted white and the furniture was a soft red, reminding me of Valentine's Day decorations.

The back door we entered led straight into the living room. There was a bathroom across from us and a bedroom off to the left. I had to assume that the hallway running past the bedroom farther left led to the kitchen as I could hear some clanging of pots and pans coming from it.

"Grandma! Come here!" Derek yelled after slamming the door and pushing past me, acting as though I wasn't here. If I wasn't so nervous I might have felt a bit miffed at his actions.

Now if I though Dark was scary then the short, grey haired woman who rounded the corner was the devil. Her darting eyes were shining with deceit and hatred and as soon as they moved my way, I felt a shiver run down my back.

"What is that?" she asked as she shot the same look of distaste toward her grandson. "I thought I told you not to bring your girlfriends here."

Oh no. I couldn't keep myself from rubbing my hands together nervously. Was she going to kick me out?

"She's not my girlfriend." He grimaced, which hurt my feelings a little bit. "She's just some homeless girl who needs a place to stay for the night."

Well, he wasn't wrong.

The old woman's voice lowered a little as she leaned toward the young man. "This isn't a charity, Derek." Her voice reminded me of a witch. "Besides, we don't have room."

"I can sleep on the floor!" I offered meekly, waving slightly to get her attention, which I immediately regretted. Her eyes were shooting daggers.

The grandma looked me over more thoroughly this time from my bland, dirty blonde hair to the long black shirt and baggy pants hiding my unimpressive figure. I wasn't insecure about my body but knew it didn't live up to either world's high standards.

"Very well." She finally smiled and it was not pretty. "She can stay here but," she poked Derek's chest, "she's going to stay in your room."

His eyes widened. "What? But I—"

"You brought her in here, you'll take care of her. This isn't a hotel." She said before wrinkling her nose and returning to the kitchen where more banging ensued, louder this time.

I didn't want to look at Derek. I could already sense that he was growing annoyed and definitely didn't want to share his living space with some strange girl he'd taken pity on. Sure enough, when I looked at him he was intentionally avoiding my gaze. Finally, after staring down the wall for a while, he rubbed the back of his neck and pointed to the small bedroom on the left. "I have a bunk bed. You sleep on top."

Well, at least it wasn't the floor.

ヾ(▼皿▼ﾒ) ♥ ♥ ♥ ヽ( ￣∀￣)ﾉ
A/N: Yes! The second chapter is finally out (it's only been two days but feels like much longer). Any thoughts? I'd like to mention that if you happen to see a blatant typo that I missed (I proof read every chapter but some things are still missed) please let me know so I can fix it. 
Thanks, again, for reading. Can't wait to see you next Wednesday for part three (unless you're reading this long after all the chapters are up in which case I can't wait to see you in a few seconds). 

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