Puppet on Strings {|} a DHMIS reader-insert

{|} What You Need to Know - Chapter 1 {|}

The duck seems annoyed with my language. "You're sure." Harry glances back at me. "Very. The thing just... appeared out of thin air outside my apartment. That's kind of ironic now, thinking about it." I ramble for a moment more. "Maybe I am high. Adam probably spiked the coffee again." I mumble, thinking aloud. I look at my hands, and wiggle my fingers. Not high. "... fuck." I sigh. I look back up. Harry and Robin are having a quiet conversation, probably about what to do with the rando, AKA me.

I look around me, noticing how the world looks more... felt-y. Understandable, since I pretty much just got teleported into a world with spaghetti monsters and talking ducks. Also, the sun isn't that blinding, which is weird, but I digress. I spend a few minutes staring directly into the sun, not going blind. I feel someone tap me on the shoulder. "Miss?" Robin says. I turn my head to look at him, still not fully recovered from the staring-at-the-sun session. "... Yyyyyyyyeah?" "Would you mind joining us inside for some tea? We'd... like to hear more about your situation." I shrug and stand up, finding it easier than I expected. "Alright."

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The inside of their house is pretty much what I expected. I've seen it before, after all. I sit down on a couch- that's definitely new. "So... you came here through a telephone booth?" Robin sits down on a chair next to the couch, actually too short for his feet to reach the ground. I resist giggling. "Yeah, I was just inside sewing a puppet up and then I heard a crash. The sort of noise that sounds like a massive car crash. It was loud, especially for just a telephone booth, y'know?" 

He nods. I open my mouth to continue, before I notice the wall clock. It was colored oddly, black, blue, red and yellow. Robin clears his throat. "Oh- uh. Sorry. Your house is... colorful, I don't normally see a lot'ta color where I'm from. Really grey." I look back at him with an apologetic smile. "That is odd. Are you sure this 'Keystone' is real?" I almost laugh. "Sometimes, I really don't think so... but... I'm assuming it had somethin' to do with the telephone booth. But I still don't know if that was real. It was really surreal." I play with my shirt sleeve, still nervous. Robin thinks for a moment. "Well, I suppose if you really are far from home, as I have come to believe, then you should stay here."

Wait, what? I stop fiddling and look up. "Wait, really?" He nods, with a small smile. "I- uh... thank you." "You're very welcome. Will you be alright with sleeping on the couch? We don't have any extra bedrooms." I nod slowly. "Oh, uhm... I forgot to ask, what's the time?" He visibly flinches. "I... ah..." I pause for a moment. "Wait. I forgot, sorry..." I glance up at the wall clock, only to see that it had disappeared. "... Robin, you had a clock there, right?" He looks where I am and freezes completely.

I feel a hand on my shoulder. "It's 7:28 P.M., miss." I take a moment to register this. "Oh, thanks, strange presence that Robin is extremely afraid of." Robin is, in fact, afraid. He's shaking as he stares with wide eyes at the person. "Is your wall clock alive?" I ask, nonchalantly. He nods slowly. "Huh. I guess that is traumatizing all on it's own." The 'person', I know it's the wall clock now, sits down on the couch next to me. "Hi." I look over at him, completely unfazed. "Thanks for the time." His expression gives me a feeling that this guy really likes to surprise people, and this isn't doing so well. "I-" Robin can't do anything but stutter.

Harry finally comes out with the tea, and almost drops it after seeing the clock. But, dedicated to his no-feelings thing, keeps hold on the tray. "Oh, no." He sighs. "Hello, Red." The clock greets. "This is certainly a nice lady. Doesn't stare or gawk unlike a certain pair of dawdlers I see." He turns back to me. "What is your name, anyhow, miss?" "Y/N. Let me guess: your name is Tony?" I decide to use my knowledge to take the clock off guard. "Ah... why, yes. It is." He crosses his arms. "Nice to meet you. Why are you two so afraid of this guy, he's only a clock." I look between Harry and Robin.

"... It's a long story." Harry finally mumbles. "Huh. And, uh, I'm assuming you don't  want to tell it." The spaghetti man nods. "Right-o then." I stand up and take the tea tray from Harry, setting it down on the table and pouring myself a cup. I take a long sip, and sit back down. "Fun." Tony makes himself a cup as well. "Robin." Harry waves his hand in front of the duck's eyes. "I- guh- H- Harry- yes?" He stutters. "You shouldn't gawk like that. You don't want to swallow a spider again." That seems to snap him out of it. Robin shuts his beak. "Oh, uh, yes. I don't. No, I don't..." He glances back at Tony nervously. 

I take another sip of my tea. "What is this, lemongrass? Something citrus, definitely." Harry hands Robin a cup, and drinks a cup of his own. "Lemongrass." I give a half-assed thumbs up. "I neeeeever have tea. College tuition is too much for me to even afford quality coffee." I sigh, leaning back. "Thanks for the hospitality." Neither of them respond, and I just listen to the ticking of the clock next to me. 

I hear someone walking downstairs, and glance over to see a yellow child with blue hair. "Robin!" He calls, hopping off the last step. "You wanna reaaaaddddd- Who's this? Are they a new friend?" Robin holds his teacup, still nervous. He doesn't respond. "I sorta... showed up outside, kiddo, so I really have no choice but to stay here." I explain. Tony chuckles. The kid notices him, and fear crosses his face. "Oh, man. Here we go again." I grumble. I set my teacup down on the tray and approach the kid. I kneel down in front of him, setting my hands on his shoulders. "Kid." He looks at me. "Go grab your book." I whisper to him, and his face lights up. The kid rushes upstairs, forgetting his fears.

I stand up and watch him go, then turning back to the three. "So, I feel like I need to know what happened." Of course, I already know, but... why not hear the story from them? "I understand the kid being scared, but two adults? Of a wall clock?" I only say this because I notice Tony had disappeared after the kid left. "I get that it's alive and all, but I don't think that's a real reason to be afraid of it." I shove my hands into my jeans pockets. Robin sighs.

"I suppose we do owe you the story, miss Y/N."