Chapter 17

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I don't have to move from my desk chair to know that Anti's back. The house turns cold and my computer glitches for a moment. I sigh, then creep downstairs. Silently, I enter the kitchen, watching his body language carefully. He doesn't say anything, but he probably knows I'm here.

"So..." I begin, albeit a bit warily, "did you find another place to hide the body?"

"Yeah," he replies, not really paying attention to me. I'm grateful for it.

The demon stares out of our large window in the living room, arms crossed over his chest. He's ominously still, a sign that he's deep in thought. The only movement coming from him are his occasional twitching glitches. I turn around to head back to my room, but Anti stops me.

"Are you scared of me?"

I freeze, then look at him. Anti hasn't turned around, so our eyes meet in the reflection of the glass. I'm not sure how to answer. He doesn't sound angry, but that can change very quickly if I give him an answer he doesn't like. If I lie, however, he'll definitely get angry if he finds out. After a moment of contemplation, I decide to answer honestly, stumbling to find the right words.

"I don't really fear you. You just freak me out, sometimes. It's only terrible being around you when you're mad – specifically at me. Nightmares are tolerable, watching you murder the people I know is scarring, but manageable – The only thing I really hated was the 'A', which isn't as bad, anymore," I finish with a point to my chest.

Anti continues to stare me down through the window's reflection. Eventually, I look away and move to the kitchen counter, wondering if I had said something wrong. I reach up to grab a plate from the cabinet. When I turn back around, Anti has appeared directly behind me. I start, dropping the plate. The demon catches it with one swift hand, then quickly leans forward and reaches above me to replace it, never breaking eye contact.

He places one hand at the base of the cupboard, and the other on the counter beside me. My heartbeat accelerates, nervous now that he's gotten so close and has remained so eerily silent. Anti's disposition shifts slightly, and he's not looking at me as if I'm really there. When he begins speaking, it's more to himself:

"Why aren't you scared of me? I've done everything right. Everyone else would be completely terrified by now, but..."

His body begins to glitch more as he becomes increasingly frustrated. Anti's attention returns to me, but I don't think that he realized that he'd been thinking out loud. I stand uncomfortably in between him and the counter behind me, one of his arms on either side of me.

The demon leans forward, still staring directly into my eyes. I raise an eyebrow, silently asking what the hell he's doing.

"Why aren't you scared of me?" he demands to know. His cold breath blows onto my face with his hard-pronounced consonants.

I shrug. The "A" begins to glow and I continue: "It's just that the nightmares and pain are bad, but I adapt to stuff pretty quickly, I guess. You're unpredictable sometimes, but now I just assume you're gonna do something crazy."

After a moment, I add, "Wouldn't it be easier to scare someone else? I'm fine with you being here, and all, but I'd prefer to not be terrorized."

"I guess I could," he laments, quickly switching from intimidating to childish, "but I wanted to scare you."

I roll my eyes and cross my arms. "You find all us humans so insignificant – What's the difference between me and the next one?"

Though I might've imagined it, Anti tenses ever so slightly. "Nothing..." he replies, a bit unconvincingly, beginning to stare at me oddly again.

With a sigh, I finally ask, "Would you stop staring at me like that?"

Anti 'tsk's and his usual smile returns. "Why? Is it making you uncomfortable?"

He leans a bit further forward so our noses are almost touching. My cheeks heat up as I realize what he's doing, but I keep my annoyed expression steady. I turn my head in another direction, but he quickly uses his hand that was previously placed on the counter to change that. Grabbing my chin, I'm turned back to look at his mismatched eyes.

"You seem nervous, [Y/N]." Anti's voice is a shrill rasp.

"Would you stop it?" I ask, pulling my face out of his grasp. "The staring was just getting weird, even for you."

Anti reluctantly moves back, dropping his arms and giving me room to breathe. Then, without warning, he places an icy kiss on my forehead and pinches one of my cheeks.

"You're adorable when you're flustered," he giggles, disappearing.

I rub my sore cheek, grimacing. He talks to me like I'm a person, but then he treats me like a toy, I think, making myself a cup of tea. My grip on the handle of my mug is so tight, the thing nearly snaps off. Frustration and indignation are the primary feelings fueling my stress, but there's also the underlying hint of confusion. 

Why'd he kiss my forehead? Was that just his way of treating me like his pet? Is he just trying to fluster me? I don't have an answer.

To relieve some clutter from my mind, I return upstairs and listen to music while nursing my mug of tea. My frustration wanes, but confusion grips my brain, demanding answers to my many questions about the demon's odd behavior.



I hope you enjoyed this chapter of "Plaything" as much as I enjoyed writing it. Comments and votes are super appreciated. Thanks for reading! ~Blue

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