Boogeyman (Markiplier x Reader)

chapter two

I screamed like hell. It was a tall man with messy dark hair, presumably wearing all black because all I could see was his head. His stark white skin stood against the darkness like a spotlight in contrast with all the darkness. In place of his eyes, I saw two rectangular reflections of light. He looked just as baffled as I did, as if he didn’t know I could see him. Erin woke up with a start, looking around wildly. I ran off the bed and grabbed the nearest weapon I could, which was a lamp and stood in a defensive stance in front of the man.

“What the hell?” Erin said, panicked.

“Someone broke into our house! Erin! Call the police!” I said hurriedly. Erin stared at the man. He didn’t move from the bed.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m about to beat this guy’s ass, is what! Now hurry up and call the cops!” My gaze never left the man. He was quiet, still looking baffled.

“(y/n), there’s nothing there.”

“Stop messing around! He’s right here!” I swung the lamp forth towards the man’s head. But it never met. I staggered and thought I missed, so I swung again. Only to hit nothing. “What?” I muttered in confusion. I turned to Erin with an incredulous look, the lamp still in my hands.

“I think you’re just tired. Go back to sleep.” Erin said brusquely. I turned back to the man. He wasn’t there anymore. I swear I saw him. I’m not kidding. But for Erin, I pushed this memory way back into my mind and went back to bed. I took care to only take one pill. Maybe hallucinations were part of the side effects of these pills? I blacked out almost immediately.

I woke up early the next day thankfully, but the bed was empty when I turned around. Checked my phone. No text. A sharp pain filled my chest. Nonetheless, I took a quick shower and made myself look presentable. If I remember correctly, today I had to interview a few comic artists. You know, to correct whatever ideas they had or to brief them on what can be published and what cannot.

I wore a plain black ruffled blouse and black and white striped box pleated skirt. I also moved all the laundry to the basket and fished out the laundry that was already done from the washing machine. I flitted here and there, and made sure everything was done. I checked the time. Only a little bit late for work.

Reaching the office, I opened the door as gently as I could. Ashleigh wasn’t waiting there. I thought I could sneak in the resting lounge for a coffee. I pressed the buttons on the coffee machine, and brought the cup to my lips delightfully before nearly spitting that shit out to find Ashleigh right behind me.

“Yes?” I said, wiping the corners of my mouth without losing my composure.

“You’re not late.” Her blond tresses fell past her shoulders as her head tilted to the side. Was that a question? A statement?

“Yeah. Surprise!” I waved my hands around in fake enthusiasm, spilling a few drops of the coffee. Of course. She eyed the small stain on the carpet, unimpressed. “What’s wrong, (y/n)? Come clean. I know something’s up.” Man, she’s sharp. I sat down on the leather chair by the tables. “I’m starting to hallucinate, hah. And I think the relationship between Erin and I have been going downhill since my insomnia’s gotten worse.” I said cynically. My situation couldn’t get any worse, really.

Ashleigh sat down opposite me and gripped my hand. “You’ll get through this, okay? I’m sure everything will get better soon.” She said seriously. I smiled at her compassion. “Thanks. I’ve got an interview to settle in a few minutes, I better get going.” I excused myself. I left the table, and she pulled me back. I made a questioning hum, and she placed something in my palm and closed my fingers over it. She nodded to me with a smile and left before me.

I eyed it. Plane tickets and vouchers for a two-night stay in the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Florida. Holy shit, what? There’s two of them, and there was a third piece of paper slipped in between.

For you and Erin.

I nearly choked up. I put it neatly into my bag. Now onto the interview. There was already a guy that looked a few years younger than I was sitting in the chair in front of my desk. “Sorry I’m late.” I said sheepishly while setting down my bag and sitting down by my desk. He was freckled, had bad posture but delicate fingers. “So what do you have in mind for your comic?” I smiled.

“Well I wanted to make a comic about like—terrorists but with a twist,” He started. I nodded slowly. “I want to make them mermaids.” His voice dipped low as if he were telling me a scary story. “Uh-huh.” I blinked. He sat there unblinking for a few moments. “Oh! Yeah, let me show you the sketches.” He scrambled and reached into his backpack, pulling out a slightly crumpled piece of paper. I struggled not to make an impolite sound.

“I’m sorry, but full-on nudity isn’t really allowed if you want to officially publish something.”

He looked flabbergasted. “Yeah, but I wanted something fresh and new instead of like—mermaids with seashell bras and all that nonsense.” He looked so compassionate that I felt sorry to have turned him down so quickly. But I saved the world of this travesty.

My next interview was at 4, so I cosied myself up and finished correcting the manuscripts on my table. Before I knew it, it was 4. I’m starting to think this day wasn’t going to go to shit anymore. So far so good. A few raps on my door told me the next client was here. She was a petite brunette with a bright smile.

She sat down and briefed me on what her ideas were about. It started normally with a pair of siblings that were inseperable, and a few conflicts here and there. The climax was that one day their mother died and they tried to resurrect her. I held up a hand to stop her.

“Didn’t you just sum up the plot of Fullmetal Alchemist?” I said slowly. She looked panicked. “..No,”

I was about to chastise her, but I saw a familiar face appear behind her. My eyes darted to the face and back to her, then back to the figure. It was the man that broke into my house! Only because the office was illuminated, I could see his face clearly. His skin wasn’t really that pale, and the two rectangular flashes of light I saw that night were glasses. He again looked surprise that I ‘caught’ him. My mouth hung open, and the girl turned around to follow my gaze. She turned back to me, looking confused.

I cleared my throat. “Sorry, this just isn’t gonna work out. Try and come up with your own ideas, and work from there. You know where to find me.” I said quickly and practically pushed her out of my office. I locked the door. The man’s eyes never left mine. I inched closer to my desk slowly, and  grabbed a pen. In one swift movement, I went to stab the man in the stomach.

I ended up poking a hole into the plaster of my wall. “Fuck!”

It passed right through him again!

“Wh.. What do you want?” I said cautiously. For a few moments his lips parted and closed, but words never surfaced.

“You can see me?” He finally said. His voice was deep and sultry, as if the words were rolling off his tongue like liquid gold. I am not exaggerating. It was nearly breathtaking. I nodded wordlessly. His face was stripped of emotion, but his eyes held the glint of amazement. He stepped—no, glided towards me. I scrambled backwards against the wall.

His eyes were so dark they looked black, but upon closer inspection they were a warm brown. He was so close to me that I should be able to feel his breath of every exhale. But I didn’t. His hand reached out to the side of my face, and I squeezed my eyes shut. I thought he was going to hurt me. But I just felt a cool breeze against my cheek, so I opened one of my eyes.

He let go, and stepped back. He looked at me with anger and sadness  and betrayal, and his shadowy figure was nothing more than just a few specks that disappeared after I blinked.