"(Y-Y/n)-! Oh, I...I'm SO e-excited that y...you're eating w-with us again...!" Norman bursted out brightly, leaping into your arms before hugging you head-on.
"I ate with you guys yesterday, didn't I...?" Frowning in amusement, you wrapped your arms carefully around Norman and patted his back with comfort, wondering how he'd missed you within twenty-four hours. You knew why, but holy crap, it must really take skill to be able to care about somebody this much. "How's this going to be any different...? We're just going to talk, eat, and then clean-up, head to bed, etcetera etceter—"
"Quite the contrary, my beloved (Y/n)." Hannibal's pleasant voice cut conveniently into the conversation, the coffee-haired male stepping into the dining room before flashing you an enticingly polite smile. Then, after taking the palm of your hand in his, he pressed the tip of your fingers against his lips; his sweet smile only increasing once he'd successfully kissed you.
"What, are you planning on messing-up my heartbeat tonight...? Is that your new favourite pastime, all of a sudden...?" You wryly theorised, throwing Hannibal an amused smile in response to your thumping heart and heavily pink-painted cheeks.
The smartly-dressed male chuckled dryly, finding your sharp-tongued answer to be relatively funny whilst he gave you a gentle embrace from the side - around your waist - instead of a forceful one like Norman's. "Possibly." He murmured into your ear with a tinge of mischief, his loving lips brushing from your ear lightly down to the edge of your neck. However he didn't try anything vulgar, instead moving back and stroking the strands of your (h/c)-coloured hair sweetly.
Before you could sit down though, you got yanked into an incredibly big bear-hug from behind; two familiar arms curling around your body as a playful grin stretched across your facial features and made your curiosity vanish. "Hey there, Michael." You warmly greeted, pleased by his absolutely adoring actions and cute behaviour thus far. "Come to join me and the rest of us for dinner tonight...?"
Possessively nodding, he agreed to your words before shaking his head; sending mixed messages towards you while you spun around and snuggled into the stalker's chest yourself. "Look, you joined us last night. I know you dislike the others, but I like it when you're around. Never forget that."
Whipping out his trusty notepad, Michael scribbled down what he meant by the confusing nodding and shaking of his head; his response causing you to laugh once you'd read his reply. "TᕼE ᑎOᗪᗪIᑎG Oᖴ TᕼE ᕼEᗩᗪ ᗯᗩᔕ ᗩ YEᔕ TO YOᑌ. TᕼE ᔕᕼᗩKE Oᖴ TᕼE ᕼEᗩᗪ ᗯᗩᔕ ᗩ ᑎO TO TᕼE OTᕼEᖇᔕ<3" [A/N: "THE NODDING OF THE HEAD WAS A YES TO YOU. THE SHAKE OF THE HEAD WAS A NO TO THE OTHERS<3"]
"Clearly." You lightly laughed again, shooting Michael another mocking smile before elbowing him in the side and sitting down at the dinner table; Michael standing directly behind you with a hidden smirk of his own.
"O-Ooh...! W...What h-have you cooked f-for us t...tonight, (Y/n)...!?" Norman exclaimed in excitement, clapping his hands together whilst also rushing to sit down right next to you.
"Well, I just thought venison burgers would be an alright meal for a Friday night evening, y'know?" You nervously explained, wondering what they'd think. Hannibal never ate your food - can't imagine why - Norman ate absolutely anything, Michael and Penny the same, you'd never cooked for Billy, Stu, or Jason, and Freddy would if you asked, but never needed human food.
"O-Oh, I LOVE t-those...!" Norman happily praised; complimenting your choice of cooking instantaneously, while a look of bewilderment danced across Pennywise's face, the clown plainly perplexed by what that was.
Another laugh slipped through your lips, your fingers pressing against your mouth as you swiftly attempted to stifle the sound. But alas, it mostly failed. "I-I'm sorry, Penny." You apologised playfully, not wanting to add to his confusion. "It's just a meal. A venison burger is like a beef burger, except a venison burger is made with ground deer meat instead."
"H-How did he N-NOT...know t-that...?" Norman muttered under his breath insultingly, resentment washing over his face as he continued to belittle and make fun of Pennywise. "I mean S-SERIOUSLY, y...you're supposed to be B-BILLIONS and B-BILLIONS of y...years old...T-This is b...basic h-human stuff...!"
"Norman...!" You called his name coldly, catching his attention and causing hurt to flood his eyes immediately. "DON'T provoke someone for NOT knowing something. Besides, it's trivial information anyway. Leave Penny alone."
"(Y-Y/n)—" Norman stammered your name with a stunned expression, tears pricking at either side of his eyes whilst you suppressed the urge to roll your eyes and scold him again.
"You...You stood up...for me...?" Pennywise noted curiously, shock glowing throughout his golden gaze as he sat down on your right. "W-Why...? You...You had nothing to gain."
"So...? What, am I supposed to...?" You scoffed with slight scorn, a small smirk flying across your facial features while you flicked your head towards him instead of Norman. "You don't always need to have an ulterior motive to defend someone, y'know. You don't always need to have a reason. Sometimes, people just do it because it's the right thing to do. Or sometimes, it just feels like it's the right thing to do, at that specific time."
"Always so considerate." Hannibal commented charmingly, your eyebrows raising at his remark due to whether or not he was being actually sincere or just condescending.
"I can't tell if you're simply patronising me, or acting genuinely pleasant for once." You sardonically replied, taking a bite of your food and finding it quite delicious. "But thanks...I guess...?"
"Most likely both." The psychiatrist admitted with another amused chuckle, entertained by the fact that you'd figured that out so quickly. "But I would never intentionally insult you. Please believe that, angelo mio."
"Uh-huh. Sure." Turning your attention back towards your food, you decided to just enjoy dinner; finding it fun to occasionally chat with the others and engage in light conversation.
It felt nice, to just release the stress of today, and also regain some energy from eating dinner. Especially when Norman had recovered from your weirdly-hurtful snap at him. For some reason, even washing the dishes for you cheered him up, your confusion sparking up after you'd thanked him. A minute or two afterwards, you covered your mouth and stifled a weary yawn - knowing that soon, you'd have to face the irritations of Freddy and his...barbaric ideas of fun. Perhaps a shower would help you relax before you had to deal with the dream demon...? Yeah. After all, Michael had given his word as to not look through the shower curtains, and you definitely trusted him enough to keep said promise. So, once you'd told the others you were taking a shower before bed, you grabbed a fresh pair of pyjamas from your bedroom and headed into the bathroom; placing said sleepwear on top of the cupboard before moving in the direction of the shower, waiting for the water to warm up to your preferred preference of heat.
Then, after it was ready, you took your current clothes off and carefully stepped into the shower, sighing with not only content but bliss as well. This shower really did feel nice. So once you'd washed your hair with shampoo and conditioner, you delicately rubbed your face too; each and every part of your body feeling fresh and clean now. This was just what you needed in order to face off against Freddy and his unhinged games tonight. Well, at least that's what you thought. Without any warning whatsoever, the shower curtains suddenly flung apart - exposing your naked body throughout the entire bathroom and causing a gasp to slip through your lips. Somehow, the bathroom door was open, but luckily nobody was behind it. Your eyes were wide with shock; stunned by the rude, unforeseen motion. W-What the—? You were about to shout Freddy's name and blame him, when a familiar flash of white caught your eye - the white blur swinging from side-to-side of the doorway before disappearing from your sight. But you'd know that mask anywhere. Sure, he had more than one, but they were always stocked in his same drawer. And he always wore them.
So the peeping Tom that had watched you shower this evening - even though you'd told him not to - was none other than...
Michael.