FANFICTION SECTION
Chapter 12
Made by: Avery!
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Niki enters the castle in complete silence, pissed that Ponk made the decision not to allow her to be present at your examination. Now, the elf has always doubted Ponk's loyalty to the town and the family in charge, but this only proved it further. The same goes for Puffy's.
However, she isn't going to tell Phil. No, she's there for Wilbur. This morning, she didn't have the chance to visit him, but she was told by Technoblade that he had woken up again. So, as she immediately goes to the vampire's room, she opens the door carefully to find the unwell vampire standing in front of his window, looking down on the streets where everyone is walking, living their own life. Niki can only see his back, but the quiet and surprisingly peaceful hums throw the elf off-guard quite a lot.
"Wilbur?" The brunet looks around at the mention of his name, looking a lot better than when Drista carried him in. When his eyes fall on his friend, he smiles.
"Niki! It's good to see you. I was already waiting for someone's company." Despite his usual pale skin, his cheeks are a little red, which is not surprising considering he's probably drunk some blood only a few hours ago. And sure, he seems to be exhausted, but other than that, he honestly looks great. And judging by his behaviour, this is just a normal Saturday noon for him, similar to how you treated your well-being as a situation you've been in before and can deal with yourself.
So, maybe everyone just overreacted?
"How are you feeling?" Niki approaches him a little to stand next to him and glance outside, not seeing what he's looking at that needs his attention so badly. When he doesn't respond, she repeats the question, getting his head out of the clouds.
"I'm feeling good, actually," he responds casually. "I don't understand what Dadza's so worried for. I mean, I'm doing fine, you know? Sure, my head's hurting a little, but that's probably just the shock." What throws Niki off even more, is the calmness with which he's talking. She would've expected anger. Fury. Hell, maybe even a bit of embarrassment. But he is none of those things.
"You're not mad at them?" Niki then asks, but when she receives a look of confusion instead, she decides to clear up what she means. "I mean, you're not mad at Y/N?"
"Why should I be mad at them?" he asks, still confused, but a sentence which reminds Niki a lot more of the Wilbur she's only known shortly before the death of his mother.
"They almost killed you, Wilbur. How can you not be angry at them?"
Wilbur simply shrugs, looking away from Niki to look out the window once more. Wilbur remains silent, much to Niki's dismay. A soft knock on the door of his room interrupts the non-existent interaction already anyway, but Wilbur doesn't react to it. So, Niki lets out a sigh and turns around, to see both Sally and Technoblade standing there. While Sally has a smile pasted on her face, Techno's face is filled with concern.
"I see you're still alive," Sally then simply says as she enters the room, followed by Technoblade and approaching both Niki and Wilbur. "I suppose the situation isn't as bad as everybody made it out to be?"
"We can't rule out any danger just yet, though," Niki comments. "It's obviously affected him."
"How has it affected me, Nihachu?" Wilbur says as he turns around, his hand resting on the windowsill. "I just told you: I'm perfectly fine."
"See? He's perfectly fine," Sally answers, but Technoblade doesn't seem to agree. However, he still keeps his mouth shut. Niki simply looks at Sally angrily. She isn't going to shit on Wilbur for claiming that nothing's wrong: the guy is either deluded or he's in denial. But Sally? Sure, the siren hates her ex-partner's guts, but she can at least feel a little sympathy, right?
"He's not fine," Niki argues. "I mean, physically, maybe, but mentally he's very unwell." Technoblade nods at her words as he too now takes a step forward. He sighs.
"Come on, guys. Let's leave Wilbur alone so he can have more time to recover." Wilbur looks at him offendedly.
"I don't need to recover, I'm fine!" he reassures but none of them actually agree, including Sally. So, when they leave his room, Wilbur's left alone in his chamber, staring out of the window with many thoughts racing through his head.
What exactly happened yesterday, still confuses him, and he's still fully unsure of what it was that he felt through his body right when his teeth sank into your neck, but he can't help but keep thinking about it. He has no idea how to describe it. It's something that gave him so much energy, despite giving him so much tiredness. It's almost exciting, in a way, but at the same time agonizing. Honestly, he doesn't even know what to do now. God, the many things he felt during those few seconds before passing out against the wall... It's al so confusing and he himself doesn't understand where the positive opinion comes from.
He also doesn't know if it comes from you or from something else. But he does know that it's a terrifying feeling, one that he only wishes to discover and know more about. After letting out a deep exhale, he tries to relax while his elbows remain on the windowsill. Closing his eyes, he tries to go through the event yesterday. You running away, him allowing you to run so it would become more of a chase, him catching you, him biting you, and then, whatever the fuck happened.
Right, the electricity. The wave of energy that went through his body, leaving him unable to move until the waves stopped. The feeling of being burnt on the inside out without dying. But something that shocked him the most: the feeling of a heartbeat.
Being a vampire, brings many positive things with it, but a heartbeat is something that Wilbur never thought he'd experience. But since he's born as one and not turned, like his brothers, he never thought he missed out. And yet, in that one moment of electrocution, he felt it. He could feel it beat inside of his chest, like a corpse in a void just revived for a few seconds before falling down again. The little bit of sunshine to shine through otherwise dark clouds blocking it away. A feeling that he never imagined to ever feel, and yet, he is already wishing to experience it again.
It's so odd. So foreign. Such a weird emotion that he wants to experience again. And again. And again. And again.
And even if his father doesn't allow him to leave, he can't stop him if he doesn't know he leaves, after all.
Wanting to clear your mind and process everything that's been going on, you take a stroll through the forest on your own after having returned to the apartment complex with Jack and Jared. Neither of them you told about what Ponk and Puffy told you, despite Jack noticing that you too were keeping something from them. He didn't ask, though.
Jared joked around with you about the weird energy thing, coming up with all kinds of fun ideas as to where it even came from. The first idea was that you were the new version of the warlock Merlin. The second idea was a joke about you being some kind of a descendant of a Greek god, which in your case sounded like the most realistic considering those people really did not know how to keep it in their pants. The third but last idea was that you were just lucky.
But having heard Ponk's theory, you really don't think that it was just a coincidence.
At first, when you returned home, you thought of calling your parents. However, you chose against it instead, coming up with literally any excuse that would count. And this led to you deciding to walk through the forest. Since you're still a little on edge, slowly freaking out only more because of the words of your doctors and what this might mean for the other events in your life that have happened, you have taken a bag with you with some salt and silver, feeling weird doing it but still realizing that you're not overreacting because the town is not a human town.
The scent of nature calms you down a little, though. It distracts you while at the same time giving you the time to think about what Puffy and Ponk said.
So, you're immortal? Between dead and alive, as the elf put it. So what? You're just 'existent', then?
Does it even matter, really?
No. Don't worry about that. Worry about surviving first. Even if survival may not even be necessary for you, you're pretty sure that your mental health is not protected by some weird enchantment. Would have been nice if whatever deity blessed or cursed you gave you some free therapy sessions as well.
"I thought you'd be more careful after the event of last night," a familiar voice then calls out and you turn around to be faced with a mask. Dream, who seems to have no abnormal features to him that would give away any type of lack of humanity, has his arms crossed as he stares right at you. "You're the first human to ever find out the truth about this town, let alone survive one of the creatures here."
"Well, there's a first time for everything, I suppose," you say as you're scanning him up and down, looking for any sign of whatever being he may be, yet there's nothing. Although, this is most likely just a result of him covering most of his skin. "But what are you?"
He seems to startle a little when you ask him that, but he tries to hide it by letting out a chuckle. "Does it matter? A vampire, a zombie, a ghoul, I wouldn't dare to attack you after what you did to Wilbur. So, maybe I should ask you the same." He walks a bit closer to you, his feet landing on the ground very lightly and you simply raising your eyebrow, one of your hands sliding into your bag to get a hold of the salt in case he wants to try something. Nobody likes salt in their eyes, after all. Although, he does wear a mask. Okay, just as distraction, then. "You know, I was convinced that you were a human at first. But not a single human would be able to do what you did. Some might believe that it's nothing that you did, but I refuse to think that you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." You remain silent. "The amount of power that Drista described. What are you, Y/N?" Once you hear your aunt's name, you freeze.
"Drista?"
Dream stares at you a bit longer. You have no idea what is going through his mind, but you suppose that your confusion is what throws him off instead. "Surely someone has explained you what happened here by now, right?" he chuckles as he comes yet closer, but you're just repeating the name in your mind. "Jared must have, right? He might not be the brightest, but he can't ignore the history behind this town."
"Drista lives here?" you then ask him, ignoring his pretentious intimidation as if it's nothing at all.
"You sound like you know her," he comments and you simply shrug, not telling him the truth of your relationship with her just yet. "But if you did, I'm sure that you'd know of her reputation here, not? Her being one of the protectors of the town is a pretty big deal after all."
Honestly, you're angry. You're angry to hear that your aunt didn't tell you about this place, let alone be honest with you when it comes to her own species, you suppose. As much as she was different, you would've never thought of her as something inhuman.
Wait, does that mean that X.D. is also not human?
"She doesn't really live here, though," Dream continues, analysing your reactions while continuing to speak. "After all, many agree that her brother committed treason. Of course, this is only because Phil and Crimson tell them that that's the case, but I've started doubting it. Nobody really knows what the situation is, after all. What would you think?"
"What's his name?"
"XD. XD, the almighty. The last of his kind, one of the protectors of this town as well." The blood in your veins freezes when you hear the name of one of your parents. "Crimson and he always despised each other. If it weren't for their rivalry, I think the town would've been a lot more successful than it is now. I also think that if it weren't for their rivalry, I would've more easily believed that he actually betrayed the whole town." When you remain silent, he chuckles, coming so close that there's only a few centimetres between your cheek and his mask. "You're awfully quiet, Y/N. What is it that's bothering you?"
You scoff, turning away from him as you start walking away too. "It's probably your terrible breath, Dream," you say as you stretch, mentally noting to call X.D. this evening. "Really, do you even brush your teeth or are you some kind of a creature whose species has been characterized by stinky breath?" For a short time, you believe that Dream stays there, until you can hear his footsteps behind you.
"It was XD who cursed me, you know," he then says as he starts walking next to you when a familiar scent of fire enters your nose. "He should be lucky that I'm even trying to defend him. He's the reason I'm still here." You stop walking to look into the depths of the woods, while Dream continues talking. "I used to be like you. Just another human, ready to move into this town and just live a normal life. And you know what happened? I almost got one of my friends killed."
"Huh?" You turn your head to him to catch him staring off into the distance, the same part of the forest as you. Dream sighs.
"Sapnap, George and I went in there, you know. I didn't know what they were yet back then. We went into the deepest parts of the forest, after someone claimed that I would never dare, and I just dragged them with me. When we got there, though, I actually understood why they thought I'd never actually go."
"What did you find?"
Dream looks at me as he sighs. "It's already quite some years ago now, but there was this... cathedral. And I later came to discover that that's where the fire took place."
"The fire?"
"Only a year before I arrived, there was a fire that killed quite some people, including Kristin, one of the protectors and Phil's wife. That place is haunted, though. Not in the same way that the town is, but it's like every little bit of agony that you can find anywhere is to be found there. And there was a creature. It had these giant wings and looked at us with these burning, red eyes, I can still remember it clearly." He lets out a shaky sigh, before looking at you. "If it weren't for me stealing that goddamn book from XD, George would've died. He didn't want to hear this though." You fall silent.
"How old were you back then?"
"I don't remember. I was young, though. Too young to take care of myself. Puffy and her parent ended up doing that instead, since I needed all the help." He sighs. "I've hated XD for it ever since and I'm only glad he's gone. However, that doesn't mean I like Phil and his family in the slightest. They're all tyrants in the end."
"How did he curse you? XD, I mean. What is this 'curse' you claim to have?" You cross your arms. He stares a bit more to you, before turning away from you and leaving you behind there. "You know, Dream," you say a bit louder. "You're not as bad as I thought you were."
Dream turns around. "In comparison with whom, Y/N? Because of course, I'm not as bad as someone like Wilbur."
You shrug. "You're still a dickhead, Dream. This is the only compliment you'll get."
"Well, you're not as bad as I thought either, I suppose," Dream comments, before scratching his head. "If you'd like, you can come by my house sometime and eat. I can imagine that eating all on your own in a silly apartment tends to get quite lonely."
"Not tonight, I'm afraid. I promised Onyx to stay this night." When he looks at you questioningly, you explain. "My cat. My cat's name is Onyx. So, if you'd like to enjoy my delicious fish and chips, you're welcome too. I mean, considering you were the one to approach me, I think you're the lonely one here." He simply hums again, before fully going away from you now. You're just left rolling your eyes, your playful smile falling once he's out of sight. X.D. has a lot to explain to you now.
And thus, as you're walking home, you're thinking about whether you should call him or request to meet up with him. Once you're home, having prepared dinner already, you chose for the latter, wanting your parent to explain everything to you face to face, with no excuse to stop the conversation.
You're patting Onyx and when you've finished your food, the sun slowly going under and you already preparing to go to work, you're startled when a knock can be heard on your door. At first, you assume that it's Dream who changed his mind regarding the invitation, after which you bet that it's Jared who wants to go to work with you. But when you open the door, you're not met with either of them, because there, in front of you now, is standing the vampire who you hoped to not have to see again.
Wilbur.