It's All in Your Head

Haunting Past

•Y/N: Your Name
•H/L: Hair Length
•H/C: Hair Color
•E/C: Eye Color

Author's POV:

"It was awful," claims Y/N with a sob breaking free from her mouth. Her trembling arms tighten their hold around Pilvrich's thin form as her tears dampen his black, button up shirt. She had just finished explaining her latest nightmare to the dark-haired man, and she was absolutely terrified. She finally knows what the creature wants to do with her after he's done playing his horrific games, and doesn't like any of the outcomes he presented to her.

"Shh. It's over now, little one," her tutor comforts in a soft voice to ease the teen's mind as his nimble fingers rake through her H/L, H/C hair. The poor thing whimpers in response.

"He's going to kill me."

"Surely, he won't. That's not his way," he assures, causing the girl to lift her head from his shoulder.

"W-What do you mean?"

His lips form a thin line as he brings a hand to the frightened teen's face. His fingers gently wipe away the tears staining her reddened cheeks as he explains.

"I've never heard of him directly killing his victims, Y/N. He drives them to suicide so that they cannot escape him even in death. Then he'll drag them down to the underworld, where he'll do god knows what to them." His words didn't help things at all; in fact he only made her feel worse. More tears build in her E/C eyes as violent sobs spill from her lips. Y/N covers her face with her hands as her breathing quickens. The reaction causes the man to sigh. His arms once again wrap around the terrified female and pulls her back to his chest.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. Just stay strong for now until I can get an opening. It'll all be over soon, you'll see. Just hold out a little longer," he whispers softly in her ear, sending a pleasant chill down her spine. Her breathing soon settles with only sniffles escaping her from time to time. After a bit of silence and gentle rocking, Y/N finds it in her to speak again.

"P-Pilvrich?" The man hums softly while bringing his hand back to the girl's hair. The texture was found to be addictively soft, so he couldn't help himself from preforming the action mindlessly.

"H-How come you know so much about... a-about it." Her shaking hands tightly clutch the fabric of his shirt. She had been wondering this for awhile now, but didn't have the courage to ask earlier.

"A hunter must know his prey, especially one as tricky as him."

"No, that's... I-I mean, why are you after him. D-Did he haunt you too?" Y/N looks up to meet his silver eyes, but the man stays silent for a moment, the expression on his face still blank. Her breath hitches when he raises a hand to place it on her cheek and flinched upon feeling its presence, but didn't pull away.

"You like it when I hold you like this, little one?" He asks upon noticing her head pressing against his hand more. When he first met her, he didn't expect her to be so affectionate towards his touch. The dust of pink that painted her cheeks amused him further and even caused the corners of his lips to twitch into a smile. He held back from laughing at her expression as her brows scrunch together in thought. Seems she didn't even realize what she was doing.

"A-A little, b-but-" the teen falls silent when his thumb blocks her lips. He already knew the answer, besides he had yet to answer her own question.

"It was a long time ago, but I once had an younger brother. I despised him greatly, but began to notice something off about him. He'd murmur to himself, hurt himself, cry and scream in his sleep, but my father was rarely home to know about any of this. Regardless of my feelings towards him, I decided to confront him and ask what was going on. I was worried. When I entered his room, all the walls were covered with drawings of the Boogeyman. Even the floor was littered with them. It looked like a majority of them were torn apart in a fit of rage. I found my brother sitting in the middle of the floor with his knees to his chest while begging to be left alone, but it didn't sound like he was talking to me."

Y/N listens closely to every word of the story, imagining every aspect. She could easily put herself in that boy's place. Her body began to shake again, but not as bad as usual, for she focused more on Pilvrich's warm hand to make sure she didn't get sucked into a horrible memory of one of her past dreams.

"Concerned, I placed a hand on his shoulder only for him to panic and bite my hand. I was bleeding a great deal and it hurt, so I screamed at him. He was so scared that I raised my voice that he covered his ears and sobbed. When I was about to storm out, he grabbed my hand and begged me to stay. He begged me not to leave him alone with that thing. I, of course, asked what he meant by that, but he only cried more and hugged me so tight that I could barely breathe. I was so cruel that I pushed him off and left. The next morning, I found him with a noose around his neck. When I got over the shock, I noticed an odd substance on the floor; a black goop. I heard a laugh behind me and saw him standing there with a grin. I couldn't move. I felt paralyzed. He asked me if I knew what my brother's greatest fear was?" A bitter laugh escapes his lips, worrying the girl in his arms.

"He told me he feared me leaving him alone. He feared that I'd never care about him, that I'd hate him forever. That's why he killed himself, because I was too stupid to stay there with him. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared. I've been trying to track him ever since." Pilvrich gives an irritated sigh and, though he looked upset about his brother's death, no tears wet his silver orbs. It was as though he had told the story so many times that it barely phased him anymore. Y/N frowns and holds him tightly, her body no longer shaking. She wants to comfort him as best she can. "This is why I want to help you. It won't correct my mistake, but at least I can do good for someone."

"I'm sorry," she mutters.

"Sorry? Sorry for what?" The man looks down at his student, bewildered by her apology.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that."

He was left surprised by her tone. It was soft, yet serious and empty of fear. It was something different that he had never heard from her. It intrigued him.

"I'm a lost cause. Even if he dies, he'll still stick in my mind. I've been tortured for too long. In the end, he'll never really leave. I know that. I want him dead, so I can have peace of mind knowing that he won't be hurting anybody else."

Pilvrich didn't speak, only stared into the girl's eyes in pure shock. Not a word was stuttered, and it was all spoken in the same tone as before. Her body did not tremble nor did tears come to her eyes even after reminding herself what her fate might be. No matter what, the Boogeyman's presence will linger in her life, whether he's dead or alive. She doesn't like it, but at least others might be saved. People would no longer suffer from his slimy hands.

"Such nobility," he mutters silently to himself before hesitating to hug her to his chest. The hug was tighter than his previous ones, and his eyes remained wide as he held her, like he was amazed. "You..." the male gulps. "You are protected, little one. I will keep you safe. Don't bother with apologizing to me. I deserve this guilt bestowed upon me. I am a bad man," he mutters the last bit to himself as his arms strengthen their hold, causing the girl to wince in pain. She said nothing, though, she did flinch. She was concerned about the man's sudden change in behavior. Pilvrich's face buries in her hair, allowing her scent to drift into his nose.

'I am a very bad man.'