-5-
I look out the window of the living room of Emu's place. I can't sleep and I'm bored. Maybe something will happen like the sandman coming to knock me the heck out or maybe Kuroto will knock me out. He might have something to help me fall asleep despite wanting to capture me and eliminate me from this world.
"Bored, right?" Someone asks and I turn around, my eyes landing on a mischievous looking face. Parad.
Parad leans in a bit, smiling a bit at me. Do I scream right now or do I run and get Emu? I have no clue what I should do about the Bugster in his place. Won't he just disappear if I run to get Emu or will he teleport to block me off?
"Don't scream," he orders, still smiling. Okay, he's looking quite sinister. Is he up to no good?
I nod my head slowly, finally responding to the mess I'm in right now. He steps back a bit, keeping his dark eyes on me. At least he didn't put his hand over my mouth. I don't want to know what he tastes like. Does he even take a shower or does he wait for it to rain on him? Do Bugsters need to shower?
"So, you're still living, huh? I wonder when that man is going to capture you," Parad says, bringing up Kuroto vaguely.
"Like you would let him get to me first. But yes, I'm still alive. Also, Taiga isn't going to kill me just because you want him to." He was stupid to even contact Taiga because Taiga came to the CR first with it. Of course, that was to probably see if they would willingly hand me over or not.
"Bummer," Parad replies, sighing a bit. "I was hoping that he would do my dirty work. Well, sometimes death is harder to bring to someone."
I hold back a laugh. "What are you? Are you a Grim Reaper now?"
"I just want to end you as soon as possible. I would do it now but you know that would make issues arise. Poor Emu would be so lost," Parad tells me.
"So?"
"I don't need you causing me issues. If you get too close to me, it'll make it hard for me to kill you." So, he doesn't want to kill me because he feels some sort of connection to me? Well, just wait until he finds out that I lied to him and that connection that he feels is fake.
"Yeah, whatever."
He moves closer to me, eying me all over. "You're wearing his clothes." He sounds disgusted right now.
"I have none of my own clothes because I came here without some. I thought it would be a simple trip or I would die on the way here." Not like I had time to plan out a vacation to another universe. If I did, I would have picked out a bunch of stuff and grabbed some cash.
Parad nods his head, not saying a word. He's very, very tall. I do wonder what is on the inside of him. Is he just made of pixels? Does he have a heart? Does he even have blood? Is his body very warm like a human's body should be?
"What are you thinking about? You're giving me a strange look like you're judging me or something," Parad asks, changing the subject. His lips suddenly curve upwards, making him look amused. "Are you into me, Elkie? Is that what that look is?"
"I..." What do I even say right now? I was sort of checking him out but not for the reasons he thinks. Not that he isn't attractive for a Bugster who wants to take over the entire world. Gosh, what in the world am I thinking right now? I'm sick.
He throws a hand over my mouth and turns a bit, looking over his shoulder at the hallway. "Shush!" His voice isn't too loud but he still pretty much is shouting at me. "You're being too loud."
I place my hands on his hand and pull on it, trying to get it off my mouth. He doesn't struggle against my grasp as my fingers touch his skin, which is surprisingly warm. His skin is smooth and nicer than my skin. Does he use skin care products by any chance?
His hand leaves my mouth and I keep holding onto his hand gently, staring up at his face as it turns back to me. "Elkie," he says, his voice very low and calm. He leans down and in, getting close to my ear. "Are you bothered by me touching you? I'm certain that this is fun like a game to you."
My heart pounds against my chest slowly as I swallow hard. I can't speak right now because he's so close to me. Is he saying that I'm enjoying this because he thinks that I'm romantically interested in him? Well, in a sense I am. But he's not real and this is all fiction. It wouldn't be appropriate to act out my feelings towards his actor to him.
"It is fine if you like me." He pulls back a bit, smirking. "I don't care for you that much. I'm not like him." He means that fictional king I made up, right?
He removes my hands from his and he laughs lowly, keeping it down. He's amused, isn't he? Does he find this to be some sort of game right now? Is that why he is acting this way? Shouldn't he be more worried about beating Emu and dealing with Kuroto? Kuroto is so going to betray his sorry butt.
"Parad..."
"Elkie, how about we play something together sometime?" Parad asks me. What have I gotten myself into?
I stare at him blankly, my mind going slightly numb. "I guess we can," I answer, finally managing to talk.
"Bye," he whispers, sounding sinister. He smiles as he vanishes from my view, looking like tons of pixels.
I fall to my knees, my heart pounding heavily against my chest. My heart is pounding so hard and fast right now. Why is it doing what it wants to? I'm letting this fictional character get too close to me. I need to remember what I'm here for. I got to figure out how I got here and how to get out of here quickly.
"Elkie, you can't sleep? Why are you like that on the floor? Were you praying?" Emu asks as the living room light comes on and I wince a bit. Why did he have to turn on the light like that?
I get off the ground quickly and nod my head slowly, looking at him gently. "Yeah, I am not having an easy night so far. I am sure it is because of the environment being different from my usual one. You know how that is, right? When you go somewhere new and it is hard to sleep?"
"I don't have too much issues with sleeping nowadays. Work makes me tired. But I do know what you mean," he replies.
Emu moves closer to me and looks at the ground as he gets closer. I'm sure he is trying to keep himself from tripping. He is pretty much a klutz. He's cute in a brotherly way.
"I bet it is mostly hard because I'm not from here."
"That would definitely be it," Emu replies, looking up at me as he stops in front of me. He puts a hand gently on my shoulder, smiling. "I know it is hard for you to be here with us right now."
"I feel a lot safer than I did back home. In my world, I was scared of doing anything wrong. I know I was on good terms with the King, but that didn't guarantee my safety. The Bugsters there infect anyone who doesn't agree with them or do what they want."
"You were a slave."
I nod. "I sort of was."
I feel bad for keeping up with this lie but this has to be done still. Hopefully, nothing will make this complicated. If someone figures out something and ruins it, I will definitely go on Parad's hit list.
"How close were you to Parad?"
I shrug. "I was pretty close to him but it wasn't anything too serious."
"Was it like dating?" He removes his hand from my shoulder, giving me a curious look. Now he's curious about the fake universe I made up.
"In a way, sure. Yeah, it could be seen like that."
"He sounds more human like in that world to be honest. He's pretty cruel here isn't he?"
"I guess he is." I look down. "He felt bad about what they did there. He...he wanted me to be safe. We grew close somehow and someway. It is hard to explain everything that went on there in the proper words, Emu. I wish I could tell you everything easily."
"I don't need to know everything that happened there to you. It is just great to see you trying to adjust to this world. You should listen to Hiiro more though. He's smart and he cares about you," Emu tells me. "He's a good person, Elkie. He really is."
I look at Emu. "I know he is."
"And you shouldn't go out randomly, okay? Kuroto will kill you the moment he comes into contact with you," Emu warns me.
"I've heard." That last thing I want is some zombie creature man to touch me. I don't trust Kuroto period. He's a man with a crazy personality.
"Was he like a crazy person in your world?"
"Why are you asking me that?" I ask him, looking at him in confusion.
"What's going on with him there? You haven't talked much about Kuroto."
"Oh..." I laugh. "He's in jail."
Kuroto should be in a jail right now. If my fictional world was real, he would be placed in jail almost instantaneously. The man only knows how to get what he wants. His nice guy personality doesn't even exist. He's consumed by his hatred for anyone possibly better than him.
"Jail?"
"Yes, jail." I nod. "The Bugsters only use him to make their entertainment. It is perfect there when it comes to that. The games in my world are top notch but I'm no gamer. I suck at gaming. I allowed Parad to play games with me and he would kick my butt so easily."
"I can sort of picture that honestly," Emu replies, laughing a bit. "So, are you scared to be here? You know, since you're away from home?"
"I'm a bit scared because it isn't my home. However, it is a lot safer here for me. I don't have to worry about possibly dying by the government's hands at any moment," I answer. The only two things that want me dead are: Parad and Kuroto.
"Do you think that your King will come and save you?" Emu questions. I wish I could have someone actually save me from this world. I have already caused a mess to be made and that isn't a good thing. I'm always doing something stupid when I panic.
"I doubt he'll come here himself. He can't risk his own life you know. He has an entire world to rule."
Emu nods his head and smiles a bit, looking a bit sad. "Well, I guess we'll just have to keep you safe here." He holds out a hand. "I'll ensure that you're safe at all times."
"Emu...thank you!" I take his hand and smile.
"And I'll find a way to make you go home as soon as possible. I know it is going to take time but maybe we can figure out a way at the CR," he tells me. "That way you can be with your King Parad as soon as possible. I know he's probably missing you." He'll only miss me if he existed.
"Yeah, I think he is missing me right now. I don't know what he is thinking at this moment." Actually, I do because he is completely made up. "I miss him so much."
"Why won't he risk his life for you?"
I let go of his hand and turn away from him slowly, pretending to be a bit sad and hurt. "He just can't leave his people. That is the reason why he'll never come and save me himself. If anything, he'll send someone else that he can trust into this world. Maybe someone I know." Is it bad that I can still Parad's touch from earlier?
"Are you missing him even more right now because I'm bringing him up? You seem like you're remembering something about him right now."
I can't let Emu know that Parad came into his house tonight. So, I'm going to have to come up with some bullcrap memory right now. What should I say to him? That I remembered holding Parad's hand gently? Will that be alright to say?
"Oh, I was just remembering how he would touch me."
Parad has the gentlest touch for an evil mastermind in the world. How could someone so evil touch someone like that? I wonder how gentle he is towards everyone else he deals with. Knowing him, he's not too gentle with them. He probably hurts them and laughs about it like it is some game.
"I see. Well, do you want to try sleeping now that we've talked about some stuff? Maybe opening up to me has made you able to sleep," Emu asks me.
I think the only thing that is going to make me sleep easily is not having my life threatened every single moment of the day. I swear, I'm not even safe in the bathroom. What if Parad just shows up in it when I'm trying to go? I don't want to go from this world after going number two in the bathroom.
"I'll try to sleep now if that is okay. Uh..."
"Yes?"
"Thank you for talking to me for a bit. I wish I could have that with Hiiro. He honestly doesn't trust me or like me very much," I say. I wish I could convince Hiiro a bit more of my story. The guy seems to doubt me.
"He'll open himself up to you eventually. He lets me in here and there," Emu says, reassuring me of my conviction to enter Hiiro's heart. "He's just hard to get to know. He does it for a reason."
"I wonder what that reason is." I know that is partially because of his girlfriend's passing. He seems heartbroken over it still.
"Well, you can think about it later, okay? For now, just focus on getting sleep," Emu tells me, bossing me around. "Goodnight, Elkie."
"Night, Emu."
"Take care."
"I will."
He turns and leaves, leaving to his room once again as he turns off the living room light. Now how am I going to catch some Z(s)? I'm digging my own grave here. Why do I have to be so careless and reckless sometimes?
I blame whatever brought me here.