#ayaotd x reader

[layla4567]

My Ballerina

Mr. Tophat x Fem reader

Summary: A few years ago you were one of the main attractions at the "Carnival of Doom". The entire audience wanted to see you dance gracefully on top of a metal hoop. You were Mr. Tophat's pride, one day you managed to escape the spell that had you trapped at his mercy but unlike what happened to the others, you remembered everything. It's time to return to the stage once, and to his side.

Warnings: Suggestive, hurt comfort maybe, a bit of angst with a happy ending, canon divergence (I don't know if it's well written but basically I mean I took creative liberties because I haven't seen the series 😭)

Wc: 4k

You were the star of the show, you were his star. You called yourself "La fée de l'air" which means the fairy of the air for the simple fact that you had an ethereal aura and it seemed like you were flying when you climbed onto the metal hoop and spun and made arabesques with your hands in the air. Other times you would go ashore and dance in the middle of the circus tent going around and around. Your slender figure and your delicate hands with long, bony fingers hypnotized people, you had great control of your body and you could bend and stretch and jump without getting tired, you were like an angel fallen from heaven. But who was most surprised by you was the circus presenter himself. He had found you some time ago when you were dancing in the streets to earn a little money, and from that day on he was enchanted by your beauty and your talent for moving and he told himself that he had to have you in his circus no matter what.

It was not difficult for him to manipulate and bewitch you to accompany him to his circus, he promised you great rewards and great popularity. All of that pleased you enormously, but even more so did his presence. His mysterious energy that sometimes even alarmed because of how dark it could be, but beyond that in the depths of his beautiful green eyes you saw something else, perhaps kindness or a wandering and wounded soul like a caged bird longing for freedom. Anyway, now you practically lived in the carnival and with him the days were more interesting, and the coming ones too, you were sure. Although… sometimes, you didn't know why, you felt like he was hiding something. And something shady. Sometimes you saw him talking to himself or having sudden mood changes as if two voices lived inside him and his head, far from scaring you, you felt sorry and worried for him, you wanted to help him but you didn't know how.

But although he tried to hide it, sometimes it was very evident, and it was noticeable in his functions. Sometimes he could change the entire planned itinerary and introduce you at the beginning or the end depending on his mood, but that was not all, sometimes his shows were a bit… macabre. From time to time you tried to ignore it or look away but the uncomfortable feeling wouldn't go away. But when that didn't happen he was really charming and charismatic and always came to see you in your dressing room waiting for you to be ready.

*Knock knock*

You were putting on your makeup in front of the light bulb mirror when suddenly a soft knock on your door caught your attention and made you spin around in your seat.

"Yes! come in!"

When the person opened the door you saw the man who had given you the opportunity to fulfill your dreams (and it could be said that you fulfilled his). Mr. Tophat leaned against the door frame crossing one foot in front of the other, he was wearing black and white striped pants and a blood red jacket, he carried his usual cane in one hand and with the other he touched his fingers to his hat greeting you with a nod of the head

"How is my star? Are you ready?"

"I'm almost ready". You said smiling

Mr. Tophat approached from behind with elegant steps and watched you from the mirror as you got ready. When you were ready you asked him what he thought.

"So? What do you think?"

He crouched down a little until his face was level with yours, peeking his face from behind your shoulder, he dedicated himself to contemplating your features and your makeup with a thoughtful gesture. You just watched as his eyes ran over your face and hair through the mirror. When he had finished he said solemnly

"You are beautiful my little fairy but I think you are missing something…"

He put his hand behind his back and pulled out a large, fresh white rose with a soft, sweet aroma.

"…to enhance your beauty"

You were stunned seeing the most beautiful and delicate flower that you had in front of you, the more surprised you were at how he had managed to make a rose appear out of nowhere, but hey, he was also a magician so. Marcus slowly placed the rose in your hair and then smiled at you in the mirror.

"Perfect, now you are ready"

He rubbed both of your shoulders to give you encouragement and courage, even though you didn't need it. You got up in your outfit that consisted of a mother-of-pearl bodysuit with a short white transparent satin skirt, your ballet slippers were also white and your hair was curly and messy. You had glued small pearls on your face and on your eyelids there was light blue glitter. You really looked like a fantasy being. Mr. Tophat stood next to you and you placed your hand on his to which he gave you a good luck kiss, placing his lips lightly on your knuckles.

"Show time"

He came out first to greet the public, he stood in the middle of the track with the spotlight illuminating his tall figure. With a big smile and open arms he started the show. There were clowns, contortionists, jugglers, etc. People seemed to laugh and have fun but Marcus had left you for the big finale because he knew that people would be left with that feeling of having seen the best last.

"And now ladies and gentlemen of the audience, I present to you La fée de l'air!"

People applauded when they saw you appear slowly descending from the ceiling sitting on the hoop. It seemed like time had frozen and people only had eyes for you. The lights above you made your skin and clothes shine and stand out. From below Mr. Tophat looked at you smiling proudly with his eyes shining with admiration. You did dizzying laps that left the audience stunned and you hung from the hoop with your legs bent while you moved your arms. But the best thing was when you went down to land, you danced with all the passion that your body allowed you, you not only danced with your feet but also with your heart. You put body and soul into every step and you silently dedicated them to the man who was always by your side. Your body and face expressed what words never could have done. Suddenly you did a Jeté Entrelacé in a magnificent way and people gasped with excitement. After you finished your dance, people stood up and applauded wildly. You made several bows excitedly and with a huge smile

After finishing greeting the audience and blowing several kisses with your hands, you left the center of the circus and headed towards your dressing room. The show continued without interruptions and when it was over people happily left their seats. Excited and about to cry with happiness, you entered your caravan and began to remove your makeup. You felt so full and satisfied when you were dancing in the air, the applause of the people, the screams of contained emotion, the dreamy eyes of Marcus looking at you from below…ah, there was nothing better than that. You had already gotten rid of your makeup and had taken off your skirt, leaving you in your pearly bodysuit. You took a bristle brush and began to gently comb your curls. That's when you heard another soft knock on your door, but this time they didn't surprise you.

"Please, come in". You said with a velvety voice

The same man who minutes before had visited you with his tall and stoic figure, returned to make his presence before you with the brim of his hat over his eyes, revealing only his Cheshire smile.

"Ah here's my favorite ballerina"

The ringleader approached you again but this time from the front. With his elegant steps and his cane echoing on the wooden floor. Thump thump thump. He crouched down to your height, one hand resting loosely on the tip of the cane. The other hand traveled under your chin and with his index finger he raised it to look at you better. Now his hat didn't cover his eyes and you could see that mischievous glint in them. Green like emeralds, fields or forests that penetrated your soul

"You were brilliant as always, my dear". He purred

Oh God. His words in another's mouth would have sounded empty and broken like a dirty compliment, but on his lips they sounded silky and passionate. Mr. Tophat was not only a great circus performer but also a great lover. You closed your eyes letting his warm breath and his syrupy flirtations collide head-on in your face. When you opened them again he had leaned his face closer to yours until they were only a few centimeters away. The handsome Machiavellian ringleader wasted no time in running his gaze over your eyes and your full lips, almost inadvertently moistening his own.

"I would love to reward you for being such a good girl. Would you like that my faithful assistant?"

His lips barely touched yours and his breath hit your barely open mouth, tickling you. His gesture was even sinful. His hand that was on your chin was placed on the side of your jaw and he stroked it with his gloved thumb. Yes, yes you wanted to.

"Yeah... please..". You meowed softly

Mr. Tophat growled lewdly in response and brought his mouth to yours. His chapped lips swelled yours with wet, desperate kisses. His hunger for you was voracious. With his gloved hands he separated your thighs and placed his knee in the middle of the seat, bringing his body closer and closer to yours. Every gasp and moan that came out of your mouth was silenced. Your hands climbed up his back and tangled tightly in his wavy hair, knocking his hat to the ground. He broke the kiss with his swollen pink lips.

"Y/n, my Y/n I don't know what I would do without you, tell me you love me…please". He said breathlessly

His tone was almost distressed and his eyes were glassy. A mixture of desire and affliction swirled in his dilated pupils like a tidal wave. He looked at you like a puppy desperate for affection and you felt sorry for him. You had been aware of his drastic mood swings before and this seemed like one of them. The one who spoke to you now was not his eccentric character or alter ego that he had created known as Mr. Tophat, no, now the one who addressed you was Marcus Cochran, a scared man and prisoner of a body and a curse of which he never wanted to be a part. , although you didn't know that until later

"I love you with all my heart, thanks to you I'm here today"

You kissed him again and he ran his passionate hands over your hips until they reached the height of your ribs.

"Will you stay with me? Do you promise to never leave me?"

"I-"

Suddenly a knock on the door made you jump and Marcus turned his head towards the sound. When the door began to open he jumped off of you and you got up from your seat quickly. They were both blushing. A muscular man with funny mustaches holding several daggers in his hands clumsily entered.

"Sorry for the interruption, master, but I wanted to ask you some questions about my next act."

The ringleader ran his hand through his hair nervously and angrily, his pleading gestures and benevolent eyes had disappeared giving way to the demonic appearance that he sometimes seemed to have. With a grunt he lifted his hat and placed it on his head.

"What a good time you chose to interrupt, but it's okay, I'll help you with your act". He snorted ironically.

Before closing the door behind him he looked out and smiling enigmatically told you

"Don't worry, this isn't over darling."

The days passed and you continued acting and dancing and after the performances your lover would sneak into your dressing room to reward you. But suddenly, one day, everything went terribly wrong. Marcus had left the carnival on important business that he did not want to reveal, but he had left his cane. You weren't sure if he had forgotten it or just left it there on purpose since it practically didn't come off his cane. That object had always caught your attention, it was so strange and peculiar that it even seemed to have a strong influence on Mr. Tophat, as if the cane were the one controlling the person and not its host. The staff topped with a luminous orb was in Marcus's dressing room. You headed there and when you opened the door you couldn't stop a wave of sensations from pushing you. As if a strange and evil magic pulled you like a taut rope. The staff shone with its own light, a mixture of yellows and oranges and in the center a white light like that of a lighthouse. Your eyes widened and you couldn't help but let your fingers barely caress the surface of the polished orb. When you did, an expansive slingshot like a nuclear explosion ran through your entire body with a painful electric shock and expanded outward and surrounded the entire circus. You almost fainted but managed to stay upright by holding on to the table. Your mind that was previously agonizing in a confusing and blinding fog was now completely clear like a sun peeking its rays through the clouds after a storm. Of course, he had bewitched you, that was the explanation for everything, because you felt so comfortable and you had never complained. You left his dressing room in a hurry and scared, the people also seemed to have woken up from the cruel spell they were under, as if they had woken up from a cloud of intoxicated drowsiness.

People started running away in terror and you did the same. You ran with all your strength towards the outskirts of the carnival of doom. It was night outside and a light drizzle was beginning to wet your nightgown and robe. You were barefoot so your feet were slipping on the stones and filled with mud which made it difficult to escape. The forest was thick and the trees looked like black, skeletal ghosts wanting to scratch you with their branches. Suddenly you thought you heard a deep, shrill voice among the thickets of the trees, but it was so dark that you couldn't see anything. Your heart hammered in your chest as you continued running but the voice continued to echo everywhere, even in your head.

"Why do you run away from me?!". The voice growled

You turned your head in all directions trying to see who was speaking but you already knew whose voice it was. Mr. Tophat appeared and disappeared like a ghost in the forest, stalking you like a wolf. You turned around desperately until you were dizzy trying to guess where he would appear this time, and as if he had emerged from the center of the earth, the ringleader stood right in front of you at a considered distance.

"I thought you would stay with me..." . He threatening little warning lowering the chin

He was getting closer to you and you backed away terrified, in many years of living with him he had never acted so creepy with you, almost as if you were a poor devil to be martyred and stunned.

"What's wrong my sweet Y/n? Are you afraid of me?"

His magpie laughter echoed throughout the forest like a pitiful echo.

"I can smell fear, remember?"

He got even closer and you went back as far as you could until you fell and continued crawling with your hands resting on the ground. The humidity of the mud rose to your nose, the dirt dirty your clothes and stuck to your nails, and the soft but incessant drizzle soaked your hair and face. You looked terrible and your eyebrows curved in an upward arc of fear and anguish. Seeing you like this, something in Marcus seemed to awaken because his gloomy and intimidating face changed to an expression of fear and concern for you. Hesitantly he approached with slower and more uncertain steps as if he were afraid of scaring away a badly injured rabbit. He approached you cautiously and you instinctively moved further away. Now he seemed hurt by this gesture and his face expressed more sadness, a hand gently approached your bare foot and placed itself on your ankle, you waited for a firm grip or for his fingers to dig into your flesh but nothing of the sort happened. Marcus's hand almost seemed to float on your skin as he didn't take his eyes off of you, and you could see that they were wet. You didn't understand what was happening to him and it was making you nervous, you looked at each other in silence trying to discover each other's thoughts. When you couldn't take more than one slap, you took his fingers off your ankle and ran in another direction, away from him. Very far

"No wait Y/n please…!"

Marcus stood up from the ground and watched you leave with a broken heart. He extended his arms in a useless attempt to catch you but you were already far away, as if that simple action of his fingers touching the air had been enough for you to come back. his side floating like a butterfly. His appearance as a child abandoned by his mother changed drastically and his easy features became hard. He clenched his jaw and clenched his fists, roughly removing his hat and throwing it to the floor. In a tantrum he screamed at the top of his lungs.

“Y/N I TOLD YOU TO COME BACK!!!”. He howled

His war cry echoed throughout the forest and scared away some crows that flew out of the branches of the bare and dry trees. You turned your head back to see if he was chasing you but he had disappeared. Through the forest the only thing that remained echoing were your footsteps, but in your mind his words continued to flutter like flies.

“Y/N I TOLD YOU TO COME BACK!!!” “Y/N I TOLD YOU TO COME BACK!!!” “Y/N I TOLD YOU TO COME-!"

The months passed and you returned to your sweet home. It took you a while to recover from the shock you had experienced and understand and process what had really happened. Mr. Tophat's manipulations, lies and false promises had affected you more than you wanted to admit. And it could be said that you were not handling the improvement process very well, since by not dancing in the circuses you had to go back to dancing in the streets and honestly it was not as fun as doing it at the carnival. People hardly looked at you and not everyone left a tip. And your home no longer felt the same as before, even though it was your real home you felt that something was missing, an emptiness oppressed your chest and you didn't know why. One day you picked up the newspaper that was always left at your door and when you read it you almost spit out the coffee you had put in your mouth. The newspaper mentioned a circus called "Carnival of Doom" and showed a photo of its ringleader. Would that man even chase you in the photos? The article told how that strange individual had dared to kidnap children and people by bewitching them and taking them to his circus, but what surprised you the most was that when they were freed the people had erased from their minds all memories of the Carnival of Doom and Mr. Tophat. You folded the diary and left it on the table reflecting. Why were you the only one who remembered everything? It didn't seem to be something Tophat planned. Did that make you someone supernatural too? You shook your head overwhelmed. Suddenly you started thinking about all the things you had experienced with him, the good and the bad. And you realized that that man could not be entirely evil, in life there are not only blacks or whites. No person is completely good and no person is completely bad.

You clung to the hope that the man who begged you to stay with him, who looked at you scared and worried as he caressed your ankle couldn't be the same one who screamed and grumbled when something didn't go according to his plan. The man who feared for his own life was Marcus, you had fallen in love with him, not Mr. Tophat. With all those arguments you decided to put on a coat and face your fears, you would go to where it all started and you would put an end to that torment. This time the sky was clear but there were no moon or stars. You went outside with a flashlight and headed to the place of your memories. The circus now looked more gloomy and depressing than before. The paint looked old and corroded and the tip of the tent was deflated and hanging limply to one side. When you were under the spell you had never realized how horrible that place was, everything seemed abandoned and dark. When you entered the circus tent you saw that it was all dark, with your flashlight you swept the place but suddenly the light began to flicker and went off. Great, you thought.

A laugh that was first soft and then louder alerted all your senses. A light turned on and the ringleader appeared standing to your right with his staff in his hand. Everything was dark so the light that illuminated him seemed even more powerful.

"So we meet again…What do you want from me?"

You were going to answer but the light went out and everything returned to darkness, uselessly searching for his image in the shadows. Another ceiling light turned on this time to your left and a little further away near the stands Tophat appeared again.

"Why don't you run from me uh?"

The man's smile was psychotic and hypnotizing and before you could say a word again the electricity went off again and his laughter echoed throughout the tent. His macabre games were making you nervous, he knew how to create the perfect environment to generate suspense and fear, his favorite emotions. Once again he appeared in front of you sitting with one leg crossed in front of the other and one hand under his chin.

"Why aren't you scared of me?... Or are you?"

"Stop it!". You yelled

His laughter sounded louder and closer as the lights went out again. It seemed like thousands of laughs and not just one. You covered your ears, wanting to wake up from that nightmare but unfortunately, it was real and you were wide awake. Again his voice was heard in the darkness and you got goosebumps when you felt it right behind you.

"But more importantly, what do you know?"

A light turned on behind you and when you turned around you saw his smiling face right above yours. He looked at you as if you were his favorite prey about to be devoured. You stifled a scream of terror. His features were more accentuated and seemed more threatening because the light did not shine fully on him and his hat cast macabre shadows on his skin. His eyes looked sickly and abnormally greener than usual. Being tall, he could lean over you as much as he wanted and that intimidated you. You swallowed and said with a trembling voice.

"I know everything and I remember everything too"

This seemed to disconcert him a little but he kept his expression firm and with a sudden movement he grabbed your wrists and tightened his grip until it made you hurt and scream. With a strong pull he brought you closer to his chest. His eyes never stopped seeing yours

"Oh really? And what will you do about it mon amour?". He said in perfect French accent

You shook and struggled but you couldn't escape him, he had a very good grip on you. You sighed tiredly and rested your head on his chest. He was surprised by this gesture but since he thought it was some kind of deception and trap, he did not loosen his fingers on your wrists. Just talk to yourself from the heart

"Marcus listen to me, I know you're there. Deep down behind all this horrible facade I know that a good man is hiding, the man I fell in love with. Please Marcus, fight, I want you to come out."

Mr. Tophat's eyes widened and he seemed to turn pale. You felt like his grip had loosened a little but not enough to let you go. You looked into his eyes and realized that they were shiny again.

"You do not know what you say…"

"Yes I know. I know you did all this to fulfill your dreams but you messed with the wrong people and now you are paying the price. Don't let others be part of this madness"

The man frowned and his lips began to tremble, it seemed that inside him a fierce battle was being waged over who would take control, Marcus or his alter ego. A light of hope seemed to pass through your eyes as his expressions seemed to soften and he looked at you with another look, one that asked for help and compassion, a look that he wanted to believe you. But that quickly changed when he tightened his grip again and pulled your wrists closer to his chest, also bringing your face just five centimeters from yours.

"And why do you care for me?". His eyes were cold and hard

"Because I know you're suffering and I don't like seeing you like this, you don't deserve anything you're suffering. I know your intentions were good. Please, Marcus, I love you and I want you to be okay. I want this all to end."

Something in him seemed to break because he let go of your wrists and his face expressed fear and concern, his eyebrows curled into a depressed frown and he looked at you as if it were the first time he had seen you. His lips trembled as tears fell from his eyes. His corners turned slightly downward in a pout. That was the real Marcus

"Y/n…I…I'm so sorry.."

With a sob he embraced you, wrapping his arms around your neck and pressed you against him in search of affection and containment. You wrapped your arms under his armpits and caressed his back, whispering tender and comforting words, managing to calm and comfort him.

"I don't know what to do now, without the cane I'm nothing" . His voice was muffled in the crook of your neck

"That's not true, together we can create something new and better. Besides, now I'm by your side, I promise to stay and never leave again."

He pulled away from you and looked at you hopefully. You smiled and then directed his gaze to the cane that was still in his hand. You extended your palm ordering him to give you the object. He seemed to hesitate, avoiding eye contact. A few seconds passed that seemed like forever until he finally handed you his cane with his hand trembling. You took it and after looking at it for a moment you smashed it against the ground, breaking it into pieces, startling Mrcus. At that moment the whole place seemed to calm down and you felt that you could breathe a new atmosphere, one calm and free of danger. You looked at your loved one again and now he smiled at you with relief and all traces of demonic evil dissolved in his gaze. He was a free man

"Thank you, thank you for everything". He said kissing your knuckles and shedding tears of happiness.

"You don't have to thank anything, it was the least I could do for you, and for everyone"

You wiped away his tears with love and tenderly kissed his lips. He delicately surrounds your waist. When you broke the kiss he caressed your cheekbone with his thumb.

"As you say, the show must go on. But this time let's start a better one"

********************************************************************

Oh will I ever write about characters I know and have seen their series/movie? Haha no

[graceslavenderhaze]

Dark Red {Connor Stevens}

Synopsis: Something bad's about to happen, i just hope she don't wanna leave me.

Trigger warnings: sleeping issues, insomnia, nightmares and terrors, angst, anxiety, prescribed sleeping pills, feelings of ashamed, hallucinations, mentions of a virus and the word nausea, conspiracy of drug problems, teenage swearing, recreational weed use and talks about it,

I feel like it would be slightly unrealistic that the shadowman didn't effect the midnight societies relationship with sleep so i wrote my approach towards the topic.

It wasn't that you thought that your life would go back to the way it was immediately after the shadowman was defeated. With two parents who were psychologists you knew that it took time and healing. But you didn't expect one of the things you solely relied on to function to start to fail you. You hardly slept after the shadowman was defeated. Your parents had been concerned about you with your lack of sleep, nightmares, night terrors and the sudden change in your sleeping habits. So they took you to sleep specialist, attached a bunch of wires to your head for a night to monitor you and ended up prescribing some light sleeping pills to help you. You took them to please your parents but hated how they made you feel, you hated how you also felt like you couldn't tell your friends about it.

You knew they weren't judgmental but you felt so ashamed, and the longer you'd been on them. The longer you'd make up excuses at sleepovers with your friends to excuse yourself to take the pills. It wasn't a permanent solution. It was temporary, your doctor told you that after a few months your internal clock would reset and you'd be able to sleep without them like before. So you figured why bother at all? If you'd be off them in a short amount of time, it's not a big deal. Or so you thought.

It started at Hanna's house, you were both feeling sleepy and about to go to bed. So you slipped out of her bedroom to go to the bathroom, telling her that you'd change into your pajamas. Your pill bottle in the front pocket of your backpack. You put the bottle on the counter, taking your pill with some water from the sink. Then throwing your pajamas on before promptly leaving the bathroom after you threw the bottle back into your backpack. The pitter patter of your pills with every step you took mocked you, like a constant reminder. It didn't help that increased irritability was a side effect.

You tossed your bag onto the floor before going to the outlet next to your blow up mattress on the floor, to accommodate for your restlessness that was also a side effect. You grew annoyed about how you couldn't find the outlet for your plug. Muttering a few swears and grunts before you managed to get your phone plugged to the outlet. You looked over to see Hanna already tucked into her bed, assuming she was asleep. You tossed your head back, letting out a deep sigh. Then stood up to turn the switch off before laying down. Your head hit the pillow and within minutes you were lulled to sleep. Hanna sat up ever so silently. Before getting out of her bed, walking towards the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Noticing the bright orange bottle that was sticking out of your backpack pocket, looking back towards you then shaking her head. There was no way you could be on drugs, could you?

That following Monday you'd stayed home from school, the following night you'd slept at the sleep clinic. Again, then you'd have a follow up later that day to check your progress on the meds. You told your friends you had a doctors appointment, then just dropped it. It was just exactly your luck that another fucking side effect, was weakened immune system. So you ended up being out for the rest of the week with a virus you caught at the clinic. Which only worried your friends more due to your appearance when they facetimed you to check on you.

Connor was the only one who saw you in person the entire week, he’d been bringing you copies of his notes, class work and homework assignments for you knowing that they were online but also looking for a slight chance of getting to see you. Even if it was from opposite ends of your driveway, for fifteen minutes a day. While he always thought you were attractive even in your sleep, he noticed you looked worn down. But he chalked it up to the virus you were sick with and forgot about it.

You ended up seeing Jai, your cousin, when he came over on Friday for family dinner. Even though all you could have was liquids and bland food. He took notice of your appearance and cracked a quick joke or two but you didn’t think it was anything too memorable.

Gabby had came over on Sunday when you were out of the woods and able to have human contact. She’d offered to help you with the assignments you missed while you were gone and to let you know about some of the latest gossip you missed at school, because all the real stuff happens when you’re not there. Nothing to out of the ordinary, the usual stupid football team prank that they get out of punishment, class clown fights with a teacher in class, and the drug free week assembly. Which had only fueled Hanna’s suspicions, unfortunately. Then when you had gone to the kitchen to grab the two of you some water, she noticed the bright orange bottle that had fallen off your night stand and rolled under it. She was shocked, had Hanna been right all along? Did you have a pill problem? She decided not to bring up anything about the bottle that had caught her attention, choosing to act like it didn’t happen for the remainder of the time she was at your house. Later that night however she texted Hanna, which only started to add gasoline to a candle lit flame.

Luke was your next door neighbor so on morning where he didn’t have a ride, he would ride with you to school. He noticed that you wore a baggy hoodie that was Connors. He discarded the idea that you were on pills, out of all of them. Someone would know, probably Jai because he’s your cousin or Connor because he’s your boyfriend. There was no way that it was a problem that had been unnoticed till now. It wasn’t until halfway through the morning drive he decided to just be bold.

“Are you okay?” He asked after having a mental battle deciding to ask. You furrowed your eyebrows slightly, “Yeah, Why the sudden ask?” You were confused, when usually he asked when he first got into the car how your morning had gone. Not been mainly completely silent up until now.

Panicking he tried to figure out a lie, “Well because we’re neighbors, and friends! Also, you’re dating one of my best friends and I’m dating one of your best friends. Y’know we should just be able to ask each other if we’re okay.” He knew he fucked up, had blurted out too much and you were going to explode.

“Okay then, Luke?” The first part of your sentence was dumbfounded and then second was questioning. “Yes?” He replied anxiously. “Are you okay?” You asked as you continued to drive, keeping your eyes on the road while holding conversation. “Yeah, you know me. I’m as cool as a cucumber.” He replied throwing some finger guns before cringing. You nodded and muttered an ‘ok then’ before continuing on with the usual morning conversation despite the unusual awkwardness.

Connor couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It was fourth period, your friends sat in the art room which was empty while you were taking a quiz you’d miss from being out last week. “There’s no fucking way!” He couldn't believe the words his friends were suggesting, the friends that were also your best friends as well.

"We all sat through the assembly! The signs are all there." Hanna interjected, her main concern was you. If you were going through this then you would need help. Gabby nodded, "She's right. We both saw the bottle, they need help."

"Who needs help?" You asked as you opened the door to the art room, making your way towards your friends. They froze, they figured that you would need the whole period to take the quiz. They collectively started to stutter and come up with random excuses, meanwhile Jai did not receive the message. "Are you popping pills?" Causing all eyes to turn towards him.

"Dude!" Luke exclaimed, Connor face palmed, Gabby rolled her eyes and Hanna swatted his arm. "What!" Jai yelled back frantic. You stood there shocked, they thought you were an addict? Sure you smoked weed occasionally but not enough to even classify yourself as a stoner. "What we mean is, do you need help?" Hanna asked concerned. You were still stunned, "Why would you think I have a pill problem?"

"I saw the bottle in your backpack when you slept over last." She confessed, you were slack jawed. The sleepover that had occurred three weeks ago? "I saw it too, when I came over yesterday." Gabby confessed, you bit your lip kicking yourself. You should've told them about the pills when you had the chance, but now? You were screwed. Connor sat there, he didn't know what to say. He had just had this all thrown onto him as of five minutes ago.

"I don't have a problem." You said as you scoffed. "It's okay if you do, we aren't judging you. We're just concerned." Luke said, his tone identical to earlier that morning in the car. Then it all clicked, they didn't want to know how you were doing. They wanted to know what you were doing. "No you're not!" You exclaimed , catching everyone's attention. "Jesus fucking christ." You said as you rubbed your hands against your face. "You're concerned?"

"No offense but you all hardly noticed when I was showing up with eye bags bigger than texas or falling asleep in class. Now, you're concerned about me!" It was true, they hardly noticed. Not because they were bad friends, they just thought you were fine. As you normally were.

"That's not fair! We were always concerned about you." Hanna said causing you to let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm not on drugs!" You exclaimed to them, honestly. "Then what are you doing with the bottles?" Gabby asked, bit your lip and looked up. "It's nothing." You replied.

"You can trust us, Y/n/n." Luke said, they didn't believe you. They still think you're an addict. "I can trust the friends who have been conspiring for three fucking weeks that I have a pill problem? Not to be the bearer of bad news but you don't have to know every waking detail of my life." After the shadowman you'd all gotten closer, which you didn't think was even possible for you all. When you weren't in class, working or at home. You were with your friends. You couldn't take it anymore, you wanted to get as far away from this conversation as possible. You wanted to be anywhere but here. So you started to walk away.

"Also, they're sleep pills prescribed by the sleep specialist i've been seeing at the sleep clinic I spend a bare minimum of twice a week at." You announced before closing the door, you walked towards the front doors of the school. Your doctor had notified the school about your new medication and how if you felt sick at any part of the day you were excused. So you went and excused yourself.

Back in the art room your friends sat there stunned. "We are all idiots." Luke announced, after the silence had became to deafening. "I didn't mean to conspire. I was just worried about them." Hanna said ashamed, she felt how you had the past several weeks. She hated it. "They hate us." Gabby voiced looking down, she couldn't dare to look any of her friends in the eyes, let alone Connor.

"Hatred would be insanely valid. I mean we did just stab them in the back." Jai spoke up, growing up the two of you had gotten into fights before, that happened with cousins especially when you grow up more like siblings. But it was never anything this bad. "I've never seen them angry before." Connor had finally broken the silent streak he held from when you entered the room. "Fuck!" He muttered, no one had any words.

"I feel horrible, this is all my fault." Hanna said as she put her head in her hands. "I started this, I should've just asked them that morning." She continued, Luke placed a comforting hand on his girlfriends back in an attempt to console her. "It's not just your fault, it's all of ours. We all had a chance to ask them about it and we just didn't." Gabby said as she laid her head on the table, upset.

"They'll come around. I mean they forgave me after I broke their favorite ornament at christmas last year." Jai said, hopeful that the situation would get better because he didn't think he could handle it getting worse. "This isn't about a broken ornament. We just accused them of having a serious problem and didn't even bother to pay attention to the real problem they were going through." Connor said as grabbed his backpack, in an attempt to find you going out into the hallway but you were already gone. Connor exhaled, he felt like he could cry or scream. He knew how you felt, to a certain extent.

You hadn't shown up to the midnight society meeting the next day, nor had you came out of your room on Friday when Jai came over with his parents for dinner. As far as they were concerned you were hell bent on avoiding them, and you were.

It wasn't that you weren't used to people speaking behind your back. You were, it was high school. Everybody talks about everybody. But your own friends? Your own boyfriend, and cousin? That was a sucker punch. One that had knocked the wind out of your lungs and had you sprawled on the floor in pain. How the hell were you suppose to get through this?

Would you lose your friends and break up with Connor? Resort to only seeing Jai at family functions bi yearly until you stopped going all together? You weren't an optimist. Not since the last time you said 'what was the worst that could happen?', your friends had ended up in a parallel shadow house. All you could think of was worst case scenarios now.

So when Connor showed up to your front door at midnight, you assumed it was some sort of intervention or a break up speech. "Hey." His voice was low and meek almost, compared to his usual confident and energetic tone. If you weren't counting red flags beforehand, you definitely were now.

"Hi." You were unsure of what to say, you were always relieved that talking to Connor was easy. But now as you both stood in front of each other you regretted thinking it would be like that forever. "I didn't know about it until five minutes before you walked into the room and even then," He paused, eyes bloodshot and hair untamed, running his hand through it once more. "But I'm sorry, so sorry that I don't think there are enough words in the dictionary to express it."

"Ninety nine." You quipped causing him to give you a confused look, "There are ninety nine synonyms for the word sorry." He smiled slightly, "Always the smart one." A dry laugh escaped him before he took another step towards you. "I'll get on my knees and recite all of them if it would get you to forgive me."

"You don't have to. We're both equally in the wrong here." You confessed, taking a deep breath before sitting on the couch that was a few feet away causing Connor to follow suit. "I should've said something, but me and my stubbornness. I can't ever admit when somethings wrong." You had a scholar streak for being stubborn, it wasn't anything new to you or your friends.

"Would you believe me if I told you that it's something I love about you?" He said leaning beside you, turning your head to face him you pursed your lips together. "Depends on the day." You said slightly amused. The light hearted moment had faded and once again the silence was accompanying the both of you. It made you wonder , if things would go back to how they used to be or if this silence would haunt you.

"How can I fix this?" Connor had broken the silence, you shrugged. "It's not you who has to fix it. Even if it were. I don't think that this can be fixed not in the way you all want." You paused, you had thought about what you would say and how you would deal with it but, here and now? It felt plastic, fake and when you looked through it would be warped.

"I'm not saying that I'll never forgive you all but, i just need time." You could see his heart break in his eyes, he nodded. "I understand." He pushed himself off of the couch and walked towards the door. "Con." You followed him, he turned around. You threw your arms around his shoulders, hugging him as if you'd never get that chance again. And for the time being, you wouldn't.

[19mrs-barnes17]

The Maze

Summary: Your friends head into a haunted house and you decide to entertain yourself in a corn maze, but you weren’t prepared for what you found.

Part: 1/1

Pairing: Bucky x reader (College AU)

Warnings: anxiety? death, mention of blood and monsters, overall spooky theme

Word count: 2,740

A/N: my submission for @barnesrogersvstheworld​ ‘s AYAOTD challenge! The prompt is in bold. [BTW I made the collage above :) and I’m pretty proud lol]

~

It scared you. That tightening in your chest, the one that ached with a panic that never seemed to dull. Shaking hands and frightened eyes that flickered about the area as you held tightly onto your keys. Your fingers aching from the pressure of the cool metal between them. The chill of the dark night, it sent shivers down your spine. Your heartbeat was steady. However, the adrenaline pumping through your veins was seeing to altering that all on its own. 

So there you were, standing outside the rotting building that seemed to drip with cobwebs and ooze blood. Your eyes scanned over it again and again, becoming more creeped out by it realistic nature by the minute. Shaking your head you took a step back, your friends sighing at your decision.

“Okay. Well, just wait out here okay? We shouldn’t be long.” They vanished from sight as they stepped through the entryway, their screams and laughter sounding from within. Well, sounds like you’ll have to find new roommates for the apartment.

A chill passed down your spine as your eyes scanned the place for something to keep your mind occupied. A hay ride, corn maze, and several food stalls that you had already eaten at. Nothing about the ride or maze seemed fun, especially alone in the dark of night. You sat shifting your weight for a while, unsure if you made the right call until you got another look at the house. A groan escapes your lips before you turn on your heel and head toward the maze. 

The air grows absolutely frigid, your skin prickling under your clothes at the mere caress of the breeze. Gravel crunches under your boots as you make your way down the path, eyes nervously glancing around at any small sound. This was a terrible idea. As you hugged your sweater closer, acutely aware of the goosebumps prickling across your arms and the back of your neck. You mentally flip a coin before turning left down a path that seemed heavily tread. 

The flickering lights of the candles in the jack-o-lanterns that were scattered along the pathways grew ever more distant, the path darkening under the cloudy night sky. You can’t help but feel dread rising in your chest, fearing that you had made a wrong turn down a false path. When you could hardly see the path, the flickering lights too distant and dim, that dread had become certainty. As you sift through your bag for your phone you silently curse the lazy punks who decided to carve their own way through the maze. The moment your hands and mind simultaneously realized it, there was a tightening around you heart. You had forgotten it at home. Too late had you remembered, halfway to the festival. Shit. You chastised yourself for forgetting and did your best to retrace your steps.

According to your watch, as far as you can tell, you have been in the maze for forty minutes. It’s only supposed to take approximately 20. Your mind was becoming frantic, thinking up all kinds of things that go bump in the night. The pounding of your heart echoing in your ears as you stumble through the maze, gradually losing the ability to take a proper breath. Your anxiety was heightened by the creepy scarecrow lurking above the corn. You don’t remember seeing that there before, and boy was it freaking you out. Tears threatened to spill over and down your cheeks, terror setting in. 

It had now been an hour. You debated shoving through the corn and making your own way out, however, the sound of husks crunching under a pair of feet snatched your attention. Wiping away a few stray tears, you cleared your throat and began shouting at the stranger.

“Hello?! Is someone there? Do you have a map? I think I took a wrong turn somewhere.” Panic was evident in your shaky voice as your head whipped every which way in search of the stranger. The night was far too dark for your eyes to make out anything in the maze but the corn. 

A sudden hand on your shoulder has you screaming until your eyes land on the culprit. You roll your eyes as he shakes his head and chuckles softly, his teasing gaze pumping anger in your veins.

“Not funny Buck. Not funny at all.” Your arms wrapped once more around your torso, the temperature continuing to drop. “How did you find me?”

“The maze is closed. You’re the only one left in here doll, like a needle in a haystack. But your shouting did help.” He shrugs off his leather jacket, pulling his hoodie over his head and into your hands. You stare at him incredulously, brow furrowed.

“You’ll freeze in that shirt and jacket.” He just shook his head and began walking, leaving you only slightly behind as you pulled his hoodie over your head. “Thank you.”

“What were you doing in here anyway? You were supposed to wait outside.” He had this concerned look in his eyes and disappointment in the furrow of his brow. 

“I just wanted to entertain myself while you guys were in the house. That place gave me the creeps. I didn’t mean to get lost in here.” You kicked a rock off to the side and weren’t startled by the thud but what followed. The rock rolled back. “What the hell?”

“What?” You didn’t respond, instead grabbing his hand and squeezing it tightly in fear. “Y/N, what is it?”

All you could do was point at the pair of glowing yellow eyes hiding within the stalks, peering from within the darkness. It took all your self control not to scream as you wrapped your arms around Bucky’s torso, social anxiety be damned. There was no way you were staying in this maze a minute longer.

“Get me out of here.” You had never heard the terror in your own voice so shaky and quiet, eyes pleading with your friend. Any panic in his eyes was concealed by a newfound sense of protectiveness, his arm on the small of your back as he leads you onward. His eyes continue to flicker between the path ahead and what was left behind, cautious of whatever you had discovered in the maze.

A rustling behind the two of you caught your attention as you finally reached the outer ring of jack-o-lanterns, stopping dead in your tracks. Bucky’s hand moved to grab yours as he locked eyes on whatever was behind you.

“Don’t look. Keep your eyes ahead, and when I tell you to run. Promise me.” He doesn’t look at you, keeping his gaze on the thing behind you. “Promise me, please.”

“I-I promise. What’s going on Buck? What is it?” You nearly turn your head but Bucky is quick, shouting for you to move. “Not without you, damn it!” 

You grip his hand tight and begin to bolt through the maze unsure if you would be able to resist glancing behind you. What the hell were you running from? Preoccupied by your thoughts you failed to notice the pumpkin before you, tripping over and into stalks of corn. Unfortunately, Bucky was no match for your entire body weight yanking him to the side and into the corn stalks. Both of you land with a muffled groan and flat on your stomach, small scratches across what little skin was exposed. 

The wind had been knocked out of you, your lungs burning and aching for air. Your hands grasp at the dried husks that littered the dirt path as you desperately tried to fill your lungs with air. Tears poured down your cheeks as you gasped, vision a bit hazy. 

“Shhh. Relax, just relax. Give yourself a minute.” Bucky knelt by your side, rubbing your back gently as he scanned the area around you. Once you get your bearings, you pull yourself up from the ground. There’s still a burning in your lungs but its duller.

“Woah, what’re you doing?”  Bucky is turning you about, scanning your hands and legs, your scratched up knee and face. 

“Looking for any serious injuries.” You stand at attention, and he gives a small smile. “Very funny.”

“What d’ya reckon serge? Am I good to go?” He shakes his head at your silly character voice, and that’s when you notice the scratch under his right eye. You decide to give him a quick once over which he of course protests.

“I’m fine. We need to go before-”

“Did you hear something?” Your eyes flicker about the small area, a dead end in the maze likely created by some punks.

“Just your god awful attempt at a Boston accent. I mean ser-” You narrow your eyes at him and place a hand over his mouth.

“Sh. I’m serious Buck.” He removes your hand, eyes scanning and ears listening for the rustling of the corn stalks. But it's dead silent. And your not sure that’s any better. “We need to go now or I’m officially never leaving the apartment again.” 

There’s a gnawing feeling in your gut, that ghastly chill on the nape of your neck, and a tightening in your chest. All signs pointing to danger, and you feared a pair of eyes were on you. The feeling has you wanting to pick up your pace.

“Whatever it is that you won’t let me see, it’s back.” Bucky’s brow furrows as he glances around.

“I don’t see it, how do you know?” You almost answer, but footprints in the mud before you make your heart drop into your stomach.

“Oh, god.” Your eyes travel up and are met with that of an indescribable creature, one you knew you could never forget. You wouldn’t know where to begin. It’s eyes were all you could focus on, with their haunting golden glow and their dead gaze. There seemed to be no life behind them and yet its chest heaved. It released a low growl that emanated from somewhere within. You were frozen in place, hand tightly gripping on to Bucky’s in sheer terror.

“Don’t move.” Out of your peripheral vision you noticed a faint blue glow coming from the side of his pocket. You wanted to warn against such a reckless move, but you honestly couldn’t muster the words. “Help is on the way. We have to run.”

“I-I can’t.” You hadn’t mentioned it, thinking that you had made it free, but there had been an exponentially increasing amount of blood flowing down your leg. “Guess that scratch was worse than we thought sarge.” Your whisper was shaky and the beast before your growled once more, a shiver trickling down your spine.

“I’m not leaving you.” You really wanted to give him a ‘no shit Sherlock’ look but the creature was watching closely. 

“I would hope not soldier. That would look mighty bad on your record.” 

“Seriously Y/N. I’m gonna have to carry you.” You nearly shook your head, the creatures eyes flickering between you. 

“No way. Not enough time for you to pick me up bridal style. This thing seems to enjoy a hunt, but I’m willing to bet not that much.”

“Who said anything about bridal style?” 

“Oh no you do-” 

It was too late, he had slung you over his shoulder. You help your hair out of your face, unfortunately gaining the job of monster watch. Fuck.

“How we lookin’ doll?”

“Well, I would say the view is lovely. However, the moment I look up there’s a rampant creature barreling toward us!” Bucky lets out a breathless chuckle as he cuts a corner. 

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Your brows furrow, baffled at what he was talking about.

“The moment we’re free then you can take your speed as a compliment. Not a minute sooner Barnes.”

“What about the so called view?” Your eyes widen and you can barely feel the heat rising in your cheeks as they flushed crimson.

“I was not talking about your ass sergeant.” Mutters something along the lines of ‘yeah sure’ as he adjust you on his shoulder. “Keep dreaming, but the thing that is currently gaining speed on us is sort of occupying my attention.”

“So you say. Entrance up ahead, at least 15ft.” You almost allowed yourself to cheer but the gnawing feeling in your gut told you not to celebrate just yet. 

“Fuck. there’s another one.”

“What?! Bigger? Smaller? Please say smaller.”

“Okay, but Abe Lincoln wouldn’t approve.” You can hear the strain in his breathing and the low growls of the creatures as the gain. “I know I said they were gaining already. But they’re seriously gaining Buck, you might want to tap into that tank of adrenaline.”

“What the hell do you think I’ve been doing?”

“A new and fun cardio exercise that I will never be a part of again?”

“You and me both doll. Almost there.” But they were quicker than almost, pulling his leg from under him and knocking the wind out of you for the second time tonight. Bucky cradles you beneath him and uses his body like a shield. He screams in agony but refuses to move despite your pounding on his chest.

“Damn you! Move! I won’t let you do this! I won’t go without you! In this maze and in life, I’m with you-”

“Till the end of the line.” He cries out as he’s clawed across the back, blood pooling down his sides and staining his blue v-neck crimson.

“No!” Suddenly everything goes black and you're filled with a sense of confusion as the pain in your body evaporates.

“Y/N! Wake up!” Those steel blue eyes peering over you in the dim light of the hall sent tears down your cheeks. 

The panic and rush of emotions had you pulling him in close, not caring at the moment about the repercussions. His lips are soft and gentle, the salt of your tears mixing in with the kiss as he held you with one arm. You don’t allow him to gaze too long in your eyes as your wrap your arms around him tightly.

“Was it a nightmare?” He’s shaken the shock of the kiss off a bit, still dazed and confused. “What happened in it?”

“It was so real Buck. So, so real.” You were practically shaking in his arms. “Remember how I told you about getting lost in a corn maze at night when I was 9?”

He nods, eyes watching you intently as you try to make sense of your nightmare. His hand still rested on the small of your back, making you unfocused.

“Uh, well… That’s where it was set.” You tell him everything, tears threatening to spill over as you reach the bitter end. “I couldn’t save you. Worse, I got you killed. And it all seemed so real.”

“Hey, it's okay. I’m alive. It was just a figment of your wild imagination Y/N. Look at me,” Your eyes find his and he smiles softly. “I’m okay. Nothing got me, we’re safe.”

He continues muttering comforting words until your breathing steadies and you calm down. 

~

Tag list: @qtmeryr​ @broken-hearted-barnes​ @barnesrogersvstheworld​ @asphalt-cocktail​

[layla4567]

First of all. Loved your Mr. Tophat fic. I don’t know what’s wrong with me but with how you wrote him having a little tantrum and throwing his tophat on the ground, I could visualize that perfectly in my head. It made me laugh. Kudos to you. With that being said, whenever you get the chance, can I get Mr. Tophat x fem!reader who visits the carnival of doom and they’re a student journalist? They have a camera and walk around taking photos of the carnival to write of news review about it. Reader decided on making a story about the carnival since they’ve always loved the carnival and circus aesthetic and overall environment. Obviously mr. Tophat takes notice of this and as much as he is honored they love his carnival enough to make a news story about it, no one is supposed to remember it. So what is he to do about this situation? I’ll leave that up to you! Thank you again! And I’ll understand if you can’t write this! Sorry for rambling, I just love this character sm.

First of all: Your message made my day! You don't know how gratifying it is for me to know that you imagined the scene just as I thought of it, thank you very much. Second: Sorry for taking so long to answer this request 😭, your idea was very good and I loved it but when I wanted to write the story I had a little creative block lol (well besides I was writing other things) that said I hope you enjoy this story :)

ARE YOU LOST?

Mr. Tophat x Female reader

Summary: Your work as a journalist is not all joy and honey, when you come across the Carnival of Doom you will regret having visited it… or not?

Warnings: not proofread, mention of dagger wound, a tiny bit of blood mention nothing too serious, the reader is of legal age, maybe a dark/angst ending(?

WC: 3k

As a journalism student you are almost always outside your house taking photographs or taking notes about everything you see. In your room there were newspaper clippings that you took as inspiration and some of your own work that you had proudly framed on the wall. But your passion was not only journalism and getting juicy news but also carnivals and circuses. All that themes had always caught your attention since you were a child, you always thought that circuses, no matter how happy and fun they were on the outside, on the inside seemed mysterious and gloomy, hiding dark secrets and that fascinated you. That's why you didn't hesitate to visit the Carnival of Doom when you saw a poster days ago hanging on a street pole, it looked interesting and you hoped it wouldn't disappoint you.

Now you were lying on your bed with one leg bent over the other, sighing and holding up in front of your eyes the circus pamphlet that you had torn from the pole. You weren't sure whether to go or not, you had heard wonders about the circus (at least wonders for you) that it was mysterious and intriguing and was unlike any other. And where there is a mystery you always have to keep your nose in the matter, but… what if everything was a failure? It wouldn't be the first time you've been disappointed by news that seems incredible and then isn't even half of what they said. That's what you were doing when your mother knocked on the door before entering.

"Come in"

Your mother brought a tray with a sandwich and a glass of orange juice.

"Hi honey, sorry, I thought you were studying, I didn't want to interrupt you."

"Don't worry mum, I was taking a little break"

You left the bed and reached out to grab the tray that your mother lovingly handed you.

"It's ok love, don't stress too much and if you need anything else call me, alright?"

She caressed your cheek and you nodded, smiling. After she left your room, you sat at your desk and ate a little despite not being that hungry. Your head couldn't stop thinking about that damn circus. Ready to finish that once and for all, you grabbed your bag and put everything you needed: A notepad, your camera that you had bought with your savings and a small recorder just in case. You left your room and went down to the kitchen where your mother was still cooking, it seemed like she never got tired but that was her love language: making food.

She turned around when she felt your steps down the stairs.

"Oh Y/n, did you finish eating so quickly, daughter? Do you want something else, my love?"

You smiled sweetly "No mom, I'm fine. I just wanted to say that I'm going out for a while to photograph something and get some good news."

Your mother shook her head smiling as she looked back at the boiling pot on the stove. "Fine but please don't come back late, okay?"

You ran to put your arms around his shoulders and give him a soft kiss on his cheek. "I promise. You're the best, love ya!"

With your backpack on your shoulder you headed towards the famous circus. The sun fell over the horizon and dyed the sky soft lilacs and blues while the clouds contrasted in warmer colors such as oranges, pinks and yellows. When you arrived you noticed something different in the place, as if a cloudy and heavy atmosphere had settled in the air, but that wouldn't stop you, you were a girl who was difficult to scare. The circus was surrounded by all kinds of people: Contortionist women arching their backs and putting their heads between their legs while they couldn't stop staring at you, sword swallowers or men spitting fire like dragons. Although everything seemed threatening, you simply smiled sideways and took several photos. The closer you got to the entrance you saw clowns with sad makeup and ridiculous big shoes.

"Oh look at that"

You took a photo again and the clown seemed to frown, there was another one with a big made-up smile, you pointed the lens at his face and zoomed in but when you were going to take the photo you noticed something strange. Despite the cheerful makeup you could see deep anguish in his eyes, behind that false smile the clown seemed to ask for help with his pupils. Suddenly a tear seemed to roll down her cheek. You frowned and lowered the camera.

"Okay that was weird.."

You decided to spend that awkward moment and entered the tent where excited and anxious people were waiting for you sitting in the seats. In the center there was an empty round beach. You sat near the front with your camera ready, hoping to photograph the great presenter and hoping that they wouldn't take your camera away. They said that the ringleader was a fascinating man. Suddenly the lights went out and only two turned on pointing towards the center, the people's voices became a murmur until silence reigned. A tall figure wearing a black top hat slowly approached the platform from the darkness. You couldn't see almost anything but you heard a noise like something hitting the wood, when you realized it the distinguished man was already in the center with a cane in his hands. He carried it forward by his legs and stood tall, he was wearing a blood red jacket, black gloves and white pants with black stripes, it reminded you a little of Bettlejuice.

His hat was so big that it covered much of his features except his smile. A sinister smile with its corners stretched up to the ears. Suddenly he raised his head and you saw his eyes, green and just as hypnotic as his smile, everyone said that the circus presenter was mesmerazing but they had never said that he was so... attractive.

He cleared his throat and with a solemn gesture said "Ladies and gentlemen, human beings and creatures from the other side, I am your humble host Mr. Tophat and today I will be your guide that will take you to a totally new experience."

Mr. Tophat looked at the entire audience, but when you gave a small giggle upon hearing his stage name, he shifted his gaze until he met your eyes, and pierced them as if he wanted to enter your soul.

"I hope you like all of this and remember no matter how weird things get, it's all part of the show."

He said winking without taking his eyes off you, he bowed slightly and smiled again with that wide and macabre smile. The lights went out and when they came back on Mr. Tphat had disappeared from the platform. Everyone applauded but you felt a chill on the back of your neck, it was the first time you felt uncomfortable in a circus, you had always loved it when you were a child but you had to admit that this one truly was unique and not in a positive way. You shook your head remembering why you were there and prepared your camera, taking out the flash so as not to alert anyone. The first presentation was a man throwing knives at a target. At first it was quite boring, the target wasn't that far away and the man didn't even have his eyes closed. As if they had read your mind, the man took out a blindfold and covered his eyes, ok this was getting interesting. He aimed perfectly and hit all the knives. Suddenly Mr. Tophat appeared and asked for a volunteer to please come on stage. A 12-year-old girl raised her hand and walked up to the stage. The swordsman accompanied her to the target and you saw that they tied her wrists and ankles with a strap. You frowned and tilted your head, the entire audience seemed equally confused so the ringleader raised a hand to calm the atmosphere.

"Please don't be scared, everything is under control"

Mr. Tophat nodded to the man for permission and then began throwing the knives at the target. Everyone held their breath expecting the worst, but luckily no knife hurt the girl even though they passed close to her body. The audience applauded in relief while the presenter smiled satisfied. You raised the camera to your eyes and took a couple of photos without realizing that Mr. Tophat noticed.

"See? I told you so. But now how about we up the ante?"

People didn't understand what that meant but it couldn't be anything good. The ringleader grabbed the blindfold and covered the man's eyes. The audience felt their blood freeze and not even the flying of a fly could be heard, even the girl seemed to tremble with fear. The man stood tall and threw the first knife that hit the target over the little girl's head. The audience gasped and the girl screamed in fear while the presenter watched everything in amusement. The next knives stabbed near his arm, his stomach, and his inner thighs in that order while Mr. Tophat uttered enthusiastic, Machiavellian laughter. A dagger had grazed the girl's skin a little, causing her to bleed slightly, but despite that the girl was unharmed. The audience was horrified and seemed glued to their seats, unable to move or blink. This was definitely something new for you.

The following acts were not as disturbing as the previous one but they were still strange. You took as many photos as you could until you noticed that Mmr. Tophat looked at you suspiciously. At the end of the performance Mr. Tophat bowed, taking off his hat and saying goodbye laughing. After that strange performance, people didn't know whether to applaud or run. Without much applause, the people slowly left the tent in silence as if they were leaving a funeral. You sat there a little longer trying to process what had just happened. Was it all real or a vile trick? Mr. Tophat had said it was all part of the shor but… was it really all planned? You didn't even want to imagine what would have happened to that poor girl if the man missed with the daggers.

You got up determined to photograph the place and maybe you could even sneak into the dressing rooms and find out what everything was like backstage. You had a hunch that not everything was as it seemed, and if you could get the scoop on some dark secret of the circus you would be very successful. ! You could already imagine the covers: "Excentrio circus hides a macabre mystery about its shows."

Stealthy and silent as a mouse you slipped behind the curtain to photograph something, anything would do. Behind it were messy ropes and cables as well as wooden crates. You opened one trying not to make noise and looking everywhere nervous. You expected to discover human parts, rotten tentacles or something much worse but when you opened it you only found circus clothes. You searched the background a little but there was nothing suspicious, disappointed you walked further finding a dark door in a hallway. It was the only one and it was a little ajar, you hesitated whether to go in or not since that would be an invasion of privacy and you didn't want to be too disrespectful. But you wanted to get to the bottom of it so you grabbed the knob and sighed.

"It's all for my work"

Upon entering you noticed a mirror with bright, blinding lights that belonged to a white dresser. To your right was a large mahogany closet. You approached to see it closer and noticed a beautiful carving of roses on its edges. You did a 180 degree turn trying to find something interesting but damn there was nothing, where had all the people gone?

You walked over to the dresser and looked at the table trying to find something. There was a lot of makeup powder and some books. You picked one up and read on the cover "Dark magic and its secrets." Finally something interesting. You took a few photos, you were so focused on it that you didn't realize that someone was behind you.

"Didn't they teach you that it's rude to go through other people's belongings?"

You jumped and screamed as you turned around. Standing there with his cane on his shoulders was Mr. Tophat looking at you seriously. He placed the tip of the cane on the floor and approached slowly, without rushing, as if he knew you had no escape. And in fact it was

With every step he took you moved further away and stuck your body to the edge of the dresser, leaning your back back trying in vain to keep the distance between him and you. When the man was close enough, he raised the brim of his hat slightly with his index finger to look at you better. God, he was even more intimidating in person. His cologne flooded your nostrils and intoxicated you like the most powerful old wine. You had to close your eyes tightly to avoid his green-eyed gaze on yours.

"So you're the camera girl who was in the audience."

You opened your eyes in surprise and your eyebrows raised somewhat fearfully which caused Tophat's Cheshire smile as a soft guttural laugh left his lips.

"Oh please dear, you don't think I didn't notice do you?"

You swallowed loudly as you felt him get even closer to you and his gaze scanned you. He went from your eyes to slowly travel to your body, his almost predatory gaze made you nervous. His eyes finally stopped at your backpack that you were carrying over your shoulder.

"Mmh, what do we have here little one?

He quickly put his hand in your bag and took out your notebook.

"No! Give me that, it's mine!"

He laughed amused and held the notebook up while with his other hand on your shoulder he moved your body away from him, preventing you from reaching your notebook.

"Let's see what we have here, shall we?"

With his thumb he opened the notebook to a random page and his eyes quickly scanned your messy handwriting. When he read something his eyes widened slightly and his corners stretched up a little.

"Oh my my, but what is this I read here?" He quickly gave you a mischievous and surprised look as he returned his eyes to the paper "It's the first time that I have visited this circus and I find myself with the first pleasant surprise: The ringleader is not only magnetic and hypnotizing as many said, but he is also quite handsome."

You screamed in annoyance and embarrassment as you pathetically tried to squirm to escape his grasp and reach for his hand but he was stronger and just laughed loudly at your efforts. Then he threw the notebook aside and looked at you funny.

"You flatter me deeply, darling" He said, placing his hand over his heart. "They have called me many things, but this is the first time that a girl as pretty as you calls me handsome."

He smiled at you and gave a small bow without taking his eyes off yours just like he did when you were in the seats. Then he stood up and became a little more serious.

"Now let's talk seriously. Why did you really come to my circus? Are you a photographer?"

"Jo-journalism student"

Why did you have to tell him what you did? Stupid. You could have lied to him and that's it, he didn't have to know the truth. But shit, he was so intimidating and those almost neon green eyes made you dizzy if you looked at them for too long. His penetrating gaze made you feel naked, vulnerable before him, as if he could see through your skin, beyond your flesh.

"Ah I see.."

Mr. Tophat with his cane made slow circles around you like a vulture hungry for carrion. He looked you up and down, studying you, and was delighted when you turned your head nervously so as not to lose sight of him. Suddenly he stood next to you almost face to face and grabbed your chin tightly, making you turn your face so you could look at him, you moaned in pain.

"And I suppose the journalist wanted to reveal the secrets of this carnival, am I wrong?"

Faced with your silence, he lifted your chin so he could see you well.

"Come on, let me see those pretty eyes of yours and use your words, my dear."

It was the first time you felt afraid, really afraid. You didn't consider yourself a scary person at all, you laughed at horror movies and you loved supernatural things. But this was different, a feeling of danger oppressed your chest. Even so, you drew strength and courage from your gut to answer.

"Maybe"

At your outburst of bravery, Mr. Tophat let out a syrupy and poisonous laugh at the same time. He let go of your chin abruptly and walked away a few steps, caressing the end of his cane between his fingers.

"Oh darling, I'm afraid that won't be possible." He feigned sadness. "Maybe I'll have to keep you here for a while so you can reconsider."

All your alerts sounded inside you like the sirens of the purge. Stay locked up here? forever? No, you couldn't allow it. You quickly directed your gaze towards your notebook and towards the door behind Tophat. If he noticed he pretended not to, so you ran to pick up your notepad and then you rushed towards the door but he was faster and grabbed you by the arms firmly.

"Where are you going so fast huh? Please stay a little longer, the best hasn't started yet"

You turned your head everywhere in terror, trying to find a way out, until your gaze met the black magic book that you had photographed. Had this guy made a deal with the devil or something and that's why he behaved that way? If so you were screwed. The man noticed that you were looking at the book and put his arms around you, hugging you and brought his mouth close to your ear, his breath tickling you.

"I see you found my book, I can teach you some tricks if you want" He whispered, smiling

Those insinuations, his macabre smile, his strong grip and notorious superior power over you were too much. You fell to your knees to the ground dejected, tormented by the possible nightmare you were about to live. Mr. Tophat's evil laugh accompanied you for a long time as you felt your eyes water.

.........

You didn't come home that night, nor the next day or the day after that. Your mother desperately searched everywhere without giving up, hoping that one day you would return, in the streets and newspapers you can see wanted posters with your face on it. Y/n L/n's whereabouts were never found again, it seems that you were just another child of those disappeared by the demonic ringleader of the Carnival of Doom

[graceslavenderhaze]

See the sirens, {Connor Stevens}

Synopsis: Set a after your first day of school, hunters arrive in Shadow Bay looking for you and your family. They have every intention of hunting your family no matter who they have to hurt in the crossfire.

after watching a few more times than i'd care to admit, i noticed that connor's slip in the book he got from sardo's had october ninth as the date, which puts the events of curse of shadows in early october.

Leticia is known as mom and Willow is mum

possible / trigger warnings: food, talks of murder (joking context), swearing, the word vomit,

"Let's be realistic, i mean zombies are so overdone!" Connor argued as you sat in his living room, midnight club surrounding. "They're classic you're just lame!" Jai argued as he looked for a movie. "Malyas you're not one to talk." Connor muttered as he settled in next to you, laying his head on your shoulder. "It's okay we all know you're a slut for werewolves." Luke yelled from the kitchen as he was making popcorn for the annual of start of halloween week movie marathon. "We should watch something with witches!" Gabby said looking up from her phone, probably letting her mom know that she had made it to Connors house. "

"Yes! I'm all for pretty women kicking ass! " Hanna exclaimed from her spot on the couch. "Jai are you picking a movie or trying to make my remote your girlfriend?" Connor said causing the room to ignite into various laughs and outbursts. "Okay okay! Witches it is." He muttered as he handed Gabby the remote, Hanna instantly sliding next to her so they could decide on a movie.

"Yes! I'm all for pretty women kicking ass." Hanna exclaimed from her spot on the couch. "Jai are you picking a movie or trying to make my remote your girlfriend?" Connor said causing the room to ignite into various laughs and outbursts. "Okay okay! Witches it is." "Here." muttered as he handed Gabby the remote, Hanna instantly sliding next to her so they could decide on a movie.

"Shawty, Classic or Scary." Gabby said as she turned to you. "Classic, duh!" You replied, Connor gave you a questioning look. "The last few movies we watched movies consist of the scream, hell fest and jennifers body. What do you define as a classic?" He asked, you feigned hurt for a few seconds. "Halloweentown and Twitches were ahead of their time and megan fox? I thought you knew me." You said with sarcastic despair.

"Yes ma'am, jennifers body honestly is creative influence for my midnight society stories." Luke said as he struggled to hold three bowls of popcorn, Hanna taking one from him and placing it on the coffee table. "As it should be." Jai said looking up from his phone.

"Love that for you." You said as you grabbed the bowl held out towards you. "Alright if we're watching disney movies we're doing it in style." Connor said as he got up and turned the lights off.

"You were not complaining this much when we rewatched my babysitters a vampire." You said to him as he turned around with his hands up for dramatic effect. "That's because it was ahead of it was ahead of it's time and disney cancelling it is forever the hill i will die on." He said as he threw himself back onto the couch you were sitting on.

"Valid." Jai said as the rest of your friends nodded. You felt sort of surreal in the moment. You'd never had a group of friends like this. There were the occasional next door neighbors who you'd say hello to if you were leaving at the same time or walk to school with when you were younger, or the school friends that you'd hang out with for the sake of not being alone. But other than that you were alone. Being alone is worse than feeling lonely.

"Maestro if you please, hit it!" Luke said to Gabby who still held the remote. Upon the movie starting you all became silent and began to get settled in. Jai had created a pillow fort on the floor that he had claimed as his "territory" earlier, Gabby was sitting in the recliner with a few fluffy blanket, Hanna and Luke were both on the couch opposite of Connor and You, close but not too close for their own personal preference. You were laying down on your back with your head turned to the side, while Connor sat on his, bowl of popcorn in the middle of you both.

It only took forty minutes for Jai to fall asleep prompting Luke to draw on his face with a marker and Connor to put shaving cream on the other side of his pillow. "Alright the rest of you are safe, until next time." They declared as they sat back down.

Gabby followed after twenty minutes from sheer exhaustion of having worked two shifts back to back at pajo's so she'd have the next day off. Hanna was too busy watching the movie while Luke was slowly drifting. Between the end of twitches and middle of halloweentown the only two people left awake were Connor and you.

"halloweentown two?" You asked looking at his, neither of you had began to feel drowsy yet. You knew you were in for a long night. 2:22, angel number for both love and soulmates. He smirked slightly, "I have an excellent idea." Turning towards you, you raised your eyebrows. "How do you feel about stars?"

"They're pretty, i'm sorta into astrology." You said sitting up. "Great, come with me." He whispered in a sing song voice, standing up and holding a hand out. You took it and began to weave your way around the couch. Leading you towards the front door, "Wait!" Turning and grabbing a blanket.

"I'm cold." You shrugged taking his hand once again, he laughed before you both went outside. The two of you began to walk towards his dads boat dock in front of his house which was vacant. "Are we allowed to be out here? Or is this the part where you murder me and then dump my body?" You spoke the last part with sarcasm. "Yeah you caught me, i'm the pretty boy murderer. God you have a dark mind." You shrugged, before the two of you reached the end of the dock.

"Welcome to my very cool and very exclusive favorite place." He said sitting down, you followed and sat next to him. "I feel honored." You said sitting down. "You should." He said turning his attention from the water to you. You felt the blood rush to your cheeks.

"Earlier you kinda had this moment where you looked sad. i guess? Are you okay?" He asked struggling to put his finger on what the proper word was but finding it eventually. "Yeah, i just didn't get to do this that much before i moved here." You said not thinking anything of it.

"Never had a movie marathon with your friends?" He said in slight disbelief but upon noticing your expression it sunk in. "Holy shit, you've never had a movie marathon with friends."

"It's not a big deal, i've just never fit in at any of my old schools. Plus eventually i just figured it's less hurt and shit if i don't get that close with people who i know once i move, won't continue calling. Will just forget and move on." You word vomited, you hadn't really said it to anyone other than your journal before. You found it easier to keep everything on the inside rather than spilling it out.

It was hard to read the emotion on Connor's face, it was ambivalent. You couldn't tell if he pitied you or not. "You fit in with me. I would never forget you." He said sincerely, you felt your stomach do somersaults. "Can i tell you something?" You nodded unconsciously moving slightly closer.

"I've never really fallen for anyone as fast as i did you. Maybe it has to do with my mom leaving but it just felt magnetic, or fated. Like you've only been here for two weeks. Shit that sounds really, really, cheesy." He said his face screwing up with slight laughter at the end. You pursed your lips before nodding, not to him just for yourself.

"No i get it, the feeling where you just are attracted towards someone and you don't have a reason or knowing." He nodded as if the words he wanted to speak were flowing out of your mouth. He looked from you to the water staring out at the moon and everything the moonlight shimmered on.

"If i tell you something, do you promise that you won't laugh. That you'll believe me?" His face was riddled with fear and his words were accompanied an anxious tone. He turned back with eyes that resembled a doe. You nodded not finding the words to say.

"Right before you rolled into town, i got cursed by a shadow demon. I started seeing him everywhere once it was dark out, and a few days after i went into the woods to preform a ritual to get rid of the curse and him." He paused before letting out a shaky breath. "You don't have to tell me, if you're not ready." You said gently placing your hand on his.

"He was already their so i ran, into the woods. I thought maybe i could outrun him or something. But he caught me and i got taken to this alternate dimension version of the lighthouse. I was there for days before he, body snatched me. Eventually he started to get my friends. They'd gotten cursed while trying to look for me." He paused for a minute, you continued to hold his hand as he took a breath before continuing. "Luke had freed us, and eventually we decided the only way for us to defeat the shadow man was to destroy him. We used a spell to take us back to when he was first created and stop him."

"Did the spell work? Did you guys stop him." You asked wearily. "Yeah but this part of me is still afraid, like one day i'm gonna be back there. In the light house and it'll just be me by myself. No way out." Towards the end his words became quiet and fearful. Suddenly your vision made sense, the past and now part of the future. But you still had no idea about the rest of it.

"It'll be okay, whatever happens. I got you." You said reassuringly. He smiled slightly. "You're so not like anyone else in this town, literally they'd have me committed to a psych ward." You laughed before looking back out at the water then back to him. "I guess i just have a fond believing for all things supernatural." You said gently nudging your shoulder into his.

"Can i um, may i kiss you?" He stuttered out and you felt your stomach flip for a second time. You nodded, "Yes, you may kiss me." He smiled then leaned in.

On the main road entering the town shadow bay your worse nightmare was arriving. They were checking into a cheap motel under a fake name and hauling around weapons meant to kill your family. Bounty hunters.

"Okay your uncle is the weirdest person ever." Jai said as he sat down at the table, Connors arm slung around your shoulder as the two of you sat there. Hanna and Luke were talking about how there had been a series of disappearances over the past few weeks, and Gabby was working on some homework. Your eyebrows furrowed, "What uncle?" You asked confused, you didn't have any uncles. Well not anymore.

"The one who just left with Ramona. Y'know tall, kinda stocky and looks terrifying lowkey." He said nonchalantly as he sat down and opened a bag of chips. Your eyes widened slightly before you pulled out your phone. "Having a surprise family reunion?" Gabby asked looking up. Texting your sister and then looking up dazed. "Something like that." You responded, staring at the chat watching the three bubbles appear than disappear.

Once again the familiar flash of images blurred through your head and this time there was a slight searing pain accompanied by it. Connor dropped his arm that was once around you and placed his hand on your arm. "I'm sure that she's fine, probably just some surprise halloween visit. Your family loves it." He whispered as you looked up.

"It doesn't feel right. I'm gonna go home, can you guys cover for me for the rest of the day?" You asked as you picked up your bag. Your friends gave you worried nods, you thanked them and then discreetly left school. Careful to not draw attention to sneaking out.

You pulled out your phone and called Ramona once more, the voicemail came up. You then pulled out your phone to call your mom. "Mom, i think they found us again." You said as you climbed into the front seat of your car and turned the key. "I know they have your sister. You need to come home and be careful." You nodded.

After a painfully long drive, double checking you weren't being followed. You walked into your front door in a frantic state. Your moms sat reading a note while your grandmother was gone. "Where's grams?" You asked deep down fearing the worst.

"She went to new oreleans for Samhain. We just talked to her she's fine." Your mom said as you closed the door. "They left a note? since when do bounty hunters leave notes?" You said with disgust laced through. "Because they're not bounty hunters. That's the same note that was found at the crime scene of my families murder." Mum had said while putting two and two together.

"They're shadow servants. They serve their master and go around stealing shadows to appease their god. WItches shadows are more potent than humans." She said as she pulled out a book from the bookcase. Shadow servants, the shadow man. "Okay so whose their master?" Your mom asked as she stood up. "The shadow man." You said looking down, "They serve the shadow man." Your mum looked at you.

"We're not the most magical thing this town has seen this year." You said before telling your parents what Connor had told you that night on the dock. "They destroyed the shadow man. They told me they used a spell to stop him before he became the shadow man." You said as you placed your hands down on the table, defeated.

"No they stopped the shadow man they were fighting. That doesn't mean they stopped any other potential shadow mans. The universe has balance and for everything that exists, there is an equal. By defeating the shadow man they didn't destroy it entirely, they merely gave another chance to someone else the universe threw that fate upon." Your mom explained. You stared at the table, what did this mean for your sister. What did it mean for your friends?

"They want a negotiation. We get your sister back as long as we offer them shadows." She explained to you. "Ok. Where are we going to find shadows on a last minute notice?" You asked inquiringly. Your moms looked at each other, then you.

"That's where your friends come in." Your eyes widened and your mouth dropped. "No! Hell No! I am not putting my friends in danger. I'm not gonna put Connor through that again either! There has to be another way." You outburst with disbelief and slight anger. Their faces remained straight faced.

"They defeated the shadow man on their own, no witch capabilities. If we tell them about this they'll help us! " You said reaching for your phone. "You're not allowed to tell them about magick. We've been over this." Your mom explained.

"I don't give a fuck, they know about magick already. They wouldn't do that to me, they're my friends. They've got my back and i got theirs." You said as a knock on the door disturbed the conversation. Everyone froze. You got up and approached the door gently touching it to see who was there. Then you swung the door open. Instantly relaxing when it was your friends.

"Guys, now's a really bad time." You as you looked back at your parents. "Please we really need you and your sister!" Gabby said urgently. You looked over at Connor who seemed slightly distressed. "We think that the shadow mans back." Luke said, you looked down than back at your moms who gave a nod. "You guys better come inside." You said moving slightly so they could walk past you.

Connor looked spaced out, trapped in his own mind. "It's gonna be okay." You said as you wrapped your arms around him. Accepting the hug before breaking apart. You closed the door after you looked outside quickly. Turning around your moms had worried and slightly angered looks that stung like a winter chill. You swallowed thickly.

"They already know most of it, if we tell them just the remaining sliver. It's technically not against the laws." You explained once again to your moms. Your friends shooting you confused looks. "Laws? What are you talking about?" Luke asked with his face knotted in confusion. "Where's Ramona?" Gabby asked with concern dripping from both words. Hanna and Seth stayed quiet, Jai had an unreadable expression, and Connor's face lowly lit up as he realized something.

"Witch laws." You said looking back at you moms. Outburst washed over all of your friends. "There's no way you're a witch. You're, you know?" Jai said, you gave him confused look. "Well, hot!" He said quickly before looking over to Connor, who gave him him a look that read 'what the fuck'. "I'm not wrong." He said putting his hands up.

"Ignoring that, whatever it was." Hanna stated before she continued, "Witches that fly on brooms? Make potions, cast spells and defeat evil?" She said in disbelief, your mum laughed slightly. "We don't fly on brooms. We never have, i honestly don't know where that came from." Your mom interjected from the table. "But everything else is accurate." You commented.

"Is your sister a witch too?" Gabby asked, you shook your head. "No she's a banshee who has a generational blood curse." You said nonchalantly, this had been normal talk your whole life. You hadn't realized just how abnormal it was for the average person to soak it in.

"Does that mean there's others out there, like the shadow man?" Connor asked his voice breaking up the groups chatters of shock. Silence washed over as you pursed your lips close. You nodded hesitantly. "You're dating a witch and that's your question?" Seth said, before Luke covered his mouth.

"Yeah." You said hesitantly once again, "The thing after you. It's not the shadow man you defeated. When you when back to save june and the lighthouse, you stopped your shadowman but the universe needs balance so to balance what you undid. It created a new shadowman."

" I think we can take it from here sweetheart." Your mom said as she noticed Connors anxious stance, you nodded as your friends walked over to the kitchen table. You took Connors hand and led him to your bedroom for privacy.

"It's gonna be okay." You said once the door was closed and Connor was free to let his emotions out. His tear filled eyes looked at you, "The last time we faced the shadowman, it felt like we barely escaped and now?" He started before letting out an aggravated sigh. "It's happening again? What so he can keep us in another dark house, for the world to go on as we slowly fade away and disappear like the rest of those kids did?" He sat on the end of your bed as he ran his hand through his hair. You took a few steps closer.

"Y/n you weren't there, you didn't see them evaporate into nothing. Even though they went back to the lives they were living before the shadowman go them it was still, horrifying." He ranted as you took one of his hands between both of yours. "I'm not strong enough to deal with this again. I can't." His voice cracked as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Yes you can, if you can't be strong on your own. Then i'll be strong enough for the both of us. You're not alone, Con." You said as you let go of his hand and wrapped your arms around him. His arms came around your waist and you felt his hot tears soak through your shirt. Kissing his forehead as his tears turned into silent sobs, he came completely undone in your arms.

The boy that remained strong for the sake of his friends and those he loved dearly let it all out in the safety of your arms.

[graceslavenderhaze]

dance denial {connor stevens}

you have a flirty and playful relationship, when the week of the glow dance rolls around she gets the courage to ask him but is sidelined by a supernatural disturbance.

also the gif belongs the @lovethephantoms idk why it doesn’t say it doesn’t have their handle under this. ( if they see this, omg hi i love you.)

requested fem!reader but it's not a main focus of the imagine.

trigger warnings: talks of bad crushes and boyfriends but nothing explicit, cursing ( not safe for Ramadan.)

It took a lot for you to come to terms with your feelings about Connor. You knew you had feelings for him, you just hadn't decided if those feelings were positive or negative in the long term. Your friends were tired of you dancing around your feelings, they just wanted you both to be happy. They didn't care if that meant you two dating or just having a friendship with flirtatious tension.

You had made up your mind on asking him to the dance on Monday night. After having a two hour long facetime with Gabby and Hanna they'd convinced you their was literally no reason as to why he would say no. So when Tuesday morning rolled around you were dead set on asking him. But he wasn't there. Then possibly one of the weirdest and scariest weeks of your life started taking place, so asking Connor to the dance was sidelined ultimately.

Then everything was reset. The shadowman was gone. Connor was back, and it was Friday night again. You had another opportunity to ask him but pushed it away. You'd already asked him, or his possessed state? It wasn't worth the possible humiliation.

"He rejected me once, I can't deal with that confrontation again." You said to Hanna as you got ready together. Gabby on facetime getting ready with you guys in spirit but her mom promised her she could drive so she opted to get ready at home. "Ok in the past twenty four you've battled a shadow demon." Gabby said as she stopped applying her highlighter to give you a dead stare over the phone for dramatic flare before continuing. " You can ask him to the glow dance."

"Seriously, you saved his life. He owes you a dance date at least." Hanna said as she began doing her hair. You shook your head, "He doesn't owe me anything. I would've done it for any of you." You said as you applied eyeliner.

"Yeah but for Connor just a smidge more." Gabby giggled over the phone, you rolled your eyes. "It's okay, you have a crush." Hanna said turning her attention to you, "Not the end of the world, literally everyone on the face of the earth has had them."

"It's not a crush!" You exclaimed, you hadn't had the best track record with crushes. Therefore you refused to even put Connor in that category. It seemed like every time you'd get close to someone, they'd hurt you and leave. You didn't want that with Connor. Even if you denied your own feelings, your walls were so high that you didn't notice them start to crack and grow flowers around your best friend.

"Is this about hewhoshallnotbenamed?" Gabby didn't have to ask that, it was a dead give away. Your ex had hurt you really bad. He was the first boy you dated in freshman year and slowly but surely he broke your heart with a sledge hammer.

"We all know my track record is shit, Connors just." You didn't even know how to explain it. "I chase people away. I don't know if feelings are worth losing him." You'd put your eyeliner down at this point. "Fuck that!" Gabby said before covering her mouth and checking to see if her mom was home yet. "Sorry but, you almost lost him this week isn't that more the reason to tell him?"

"When I first showed up in the dark the first thing he asked about was if you were okay." Hanna added, "If he didn't like you why would he have gone through such lengths to protect you this whole time?" It was true, since he got out of the light house he hadn't taken his sight off of you or let you get out of arms reach. Was the only thing stopping you, your own paranoia?

You'd finished getting ready with Hanna about half an hour ago. She went home so her moms could take pictures before she showed up at the dance and Gabby hung up not so much before hand. You stayed cleaning in your room so when you got home it wasn't a total disaster.

Your parents weren't back from work yet so you were enjoying blasting your music before going to the generic recycled playlists the school constantly played at the dances. Then your doorbell being rung distracted you. "Got it!" You yelled rushing towards the door incase it was a mail carrier or something like that.

Opening the door you saw Connor, his usual dark and distressed clothing tossed aside wearing something more fitting for the glow dance. "Hey!" He said walking in as you closed the door behind him. "Hey, I thought we were all meeting at the dance?" You asked, it had been mutually decided in the group chat. After Gabby's mom agreed she could drive there, Hanna's moms wanted pictures, and other personal conflicts that had presented that meeting up individually would be the best idea.

"We still are, I just thought that I should pick you up." He said as the two of you made your way back to your bedroom. "Why would you pick me up?" You asked as continued to clean your room while Connor jumped onto your bed. "Cause we're us, y'know." He said taking sudden interests in your squishmallows.

You stopped in your tracks. If there was a nobel peace prize or some societal outstanding award for stubbornness, you win beating every nomee in a landslide. "There isn't an us, there just is just our flirty friendship that has a suffocating amount of romantic tension which sucks!" You declared turning around. Taken aback he sat up, "I thought that you liked this flirty friendship."

"Not if it's only going to be a fucking friendship." You said lowly leaning against your desk. Realizing what you'd said you spit out whatever would save your ass, "Let's just pretend like this never happened." Standing up and walking in front of you. "I'm not okay with pretending, especially when I've waited so long." You try to push away but you're already in a corner, both literally and metaphorically.

" I'm bad luck, trust me. You deserve a girlfriend who can actually tell you how she feels, Con." It was like a lightbulb flashed in his head. Turning around and grabbing a reversible octopus off of your bed. "Tell me how you feel then." He said placing it into your hands. It was on green, green would be playing it safe. Your friendship would stay the same and you wouldn't have to risk ruining it. No deep end.

You flipped it to purple before handing it to Connor. He smiled, "You deserve to be loved." You looked up at him, deep end bound. He placed his hands on either side of your face. "So let me through those walls." You breathed in. "Only if you promise you won't hurt me."

"Never. I could never hurt you." You felt the moss and ivy that had grown upright on those walls slowly retracted. You moved to place your head in the crook of his neck. His arms wrapped around you. "Shit, there goes my stone cold bitch reputation." You joked.

Loosening his grip he curled one of fingers and placed it under your chin. "You were never stone cold to me." Pressing his lips to yours. "But my girlfriend is a bitch and I like her very much." He joked causing you to giggle.

"So, are we going to the dance? Because I like this." You said, He stepped back. "Yes and we can do more of this later." He said as you grabbed your shoes. "Didn't take you for a clinger, Con." You said sitting down to tie them. "Really?" He said jumping onto your bed and crashing into you, "Cause I can get clingy-er." He said pulling himself into you as you finished to tie your shoes. You looked over and smiled.

"M'lady." He said holding his hand out with a dorky british accent. "Why thank you kind sire." You said taking it and walking out of your room.

[graceslavenderhaze]

Hear the sirens, {connor stevens}

synopsis: After the shadow man was defeated their was no new supernatural anomalies in town, then you and your wayward family showed up. 

also this gif is lovethephantoms gif but I still can’t figure out why the handle won’t come up underneath the gif. 

another female requested reader however when referred to in the writing the pronouns are gender neutral.

This is part one of three!

The Midnight Society had finally settled back into life as it normally was. Gabby had passed her PSAT’s and gotten her permit, still working her way to get out of shadow bay. Hanna still heavily involved in her activism and getting more signatures than before hand on her petitions, making the world a better place even if it was one step, by herself, at a time. Luke back to focusing on school and wrestling, he was still benched for weekend meet for disciplinary due to being late to practice which gave him plenty of time to work on the science project he owed . Jai back to being the comic book nerd his friends loved him as, no longer feeling like he had to own up to any sort of standards when his friends loved him the way he was. Then there was Connor. Who found it harder than his friends to move on, it wasn’t that easy for him. His dad didn’t know what happened so he carried on with the fishing trips like usual. Luke and Hanna had started dating after the glow dance so he was adjusting to his best friend not always being available. While he knew that the shadow man was gone, something in him still felt dark. Like a part of him had been permanently darkened by what he’d been through. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up whenever he walked by cemeteries, or historic settlements of shadow bay. He pushed it all down and acted like nothing happened. But he still slept with the lights on. He still had nightmares most nights. 

The Amana family Coven had been around for centuries. It was one of the few that was a female centric coven throughout the dark ages in magic along side the golden ages. The eldest of the coven was Gaia Amana, whose daughter was Leticia Amana, they remain the only two witches in the coven. Leticia married Willow a human woman that had been orphaned in her childhood due to an magical accident claiming her parents. They had two children. Two daughters. One who was a Witch with the gift of clairvoyance. Another who was a Banshee with a generational blood curse. 

That Witch, with the clairvoyance? That was you. Your Sister was the Banshee. This was the story of your family and the magic deeply routed throughout your family and bloodline, biological and adoptive. Growing up with magic isn’t a fairytale. You never stayed in one town longer than four years, where there was witches there was hunters who never strayed far.

So anyone who had magic lived by three commandments for protections.

Thou shall not bear the knowledge of magic,

Thou shall not caress a practitioner of magic,

Thou shall not survive a witches love. 

By those three commandments your family was able to continue to practice their respective magic without worrying about witch hunts in town. But the times had changed from when your grandmother first took over the coven. It was the twenty first century and spirituality and supernatural abilities were somewhat mainstream, not the truth but the refraction of what was going on. It blurred the lines of what was actually going on. So when it was time for the quadrennial move, your mothers had chosen a small town in Canada. Shadow Bay. There was hardly any supernatural occurrence’s there. With the exceptional of a magic shop but witch hunters had standards so they’d never show up there anyways. 

You’d gotten used to the somewhat lonely routine of your life. The moving every four years, the secrets about your magic, while it wasn’t ideal. You loved your magic and you wouldn’t trade your abilities for anything else in the world. But having some solid friends would’ve been a nice start.  

The drive wasn’t the longest you’ve ever taken, it also wasn’t the shortest you’ve every taken either. The only difference was that due to getting your license recently your grandmother let you drive her car. You’d lived in a lot of placed over the years. Apartments, ranch, colonial, victorian. Now you were living in a cottage in the woods by a lighthouse. Pulling into the drive you passed a group of six people. Five teens who looked around your age and one who seemed to be younger possibly in middle school. 

“Keys are in the mail box.” Your grandmother said, you looked over. “That’s harsh.” You said unbuckling and opening the door to retrieve the keys from the mail box. If the group of teens weren’t staring before they definitely were now. “Can i help you ?” You asked turning around at the group of teens who were like you thought, were staring.

A tall blonde in a leather jacket and all black, A red head wearing an army jacket and docs, A brunnette with curly hair who had a denim jacket on, A tanned brunnette boy wearing street clothes, A pale brunette who had a skateboard not far from his grasp, and a little boy wearing a cap and a wand in his hand.

“Did you just move into the haunted house in the woods?” The brunnette in street clothes asked with zero hesitation. Haunted? “Jai!” The red head exclaimed slapping his arm. The blonde still was staring at you. Like there was this connection flowing between the two of you, you felt it too. “Sorry he has the social skills of a second grader. I’m Hanna Romero.” She said extending a hand towards you. “Y/n Amana.” 

“This is Gabby Lewis, that’s Jai Malyas, He’s Luke Mccoy, on the end is Connor Stevens,” So staring boy has a name. “And that’s my little brother Seth.” She said giving a full rollcall for you. “Sorry i just have to ask, the haunted house in the woods?” Jai said not putting his question down. Everyone turned to him and you laughed. 

“So you believe in the other side?” You said crossing your arms and raising your eyebrows. The group fell silent for a minute. “Well I mean is there really another side? Maybe all the funs having here.” Connor said smiling at you, lying. You didn’t need magic to know. You just knew the faces of people who’d experienced the supernatural and didn’t know how to explain it afterwards.

“All right then pretty boy.” You said slightly taken aback Connors eyes widened. “Are you going to shadow bay high once you get settled?” Gabby asked you. You nodded, “Yeah my sister and I are suppose to start next week.” Gabby looked at Connor and then back to you, “We could show you both around, give you the old razzle dazzle.” She said. You smiled, “Yeah i’d really appreciate that!” 

“No problem! Right Connor?” Gabby said, nudging him. You turned your eyes backed to him. “Yeah no problem at all.” He said running a hand through his hair. You nodded. “I should probably go but i’ll see you guys next week.” You said, each of the teens saying a goodbye to you and you got into the car where your grandmother was waiting, dropping the envelopes with the keys on the dash board. 

“Well that looked like a lot more than just getting the keys.” She noted as you started to drive up into the woods. “Just some local kids who offered to show me around when i start and also said our house is the local haunted house in the woods.” You said turning as the road winded. She nodded, “This town is going to be different, you can feel it can’t you?” You could and it gave you butterflies. 

That night after dinner you sat up decorating your room. You’d never had your own room before and now you had free creative decisions. You sister knocked on the door holding two cups of tea, “Tea time?” You nodded. You were older by two years, it wasn’t much but sometimes it still managed to wedge a gap between the two of you for certain subjects. She placed your mug down on your desk were you were placing posters up and she sat on your bed. “So Grams said that you were flirting with some outsiders type beat boy earlier.” 

You turned taking a sip, “I was not flirting. I might’ve called him pretty boy. But that’s the highest form of flattery rather than flirting if anything!” You said to your sister. “What if you date him? What if you fall in love and have cute babies?” She gushed. “I just met him!” You exclaimed to her turning around, “Oh come on, haven’t you ever wanted to date someone?” 

“I don’t date. We move too much besides there’d be too much lying. It would just be heartbreak for me and whoever i’m with.” You said turning your attention back to decorating rather than the conversation. Silence washed over and the question that had been on everyone’s minds was asked once again. “Is it gonna be different here?” 

You stalled, exhaling slowly. “You have the gift of clairvoyance, if anything you can tell out of all of us.” She said with excitement. “No i’m not doing it.” You said shutting her suggestion down. “Oh come on!” She persisted. 

“Astral projecting isn’t meant for figuring out if we’re going to live out our coming of age fantasies, it’s meant for real magic. I’m not doing it. If any clairvoyant dreams come to me, that’s one thing. I’m not chasing them.” You said breaking down the now empty box that once held pictures, posters and other wall hanging knick knacks. Your sister pouted, “Buzzkill.” She muttered under her breath, “Well were either of the girls cute and give gay vibes?” She asked as she finished her mug and placed it on the floor. 

“Ask them yourself. They offered to show us around on our first day. But no powers. If you want a relationship it has to be fully yourself no magic sire ties. Magic sometimes makes it messy.” You said unfortunately speaking from experience. Magic was beautiful but it doesn’t come from nothing, there is a give and a take. Like everything else in the universe. 

That night you found it hard to sleep, you usually had issues sleeping the first night in a new town. It was some sort of internal clock routine. You snuck out of the front door, for a house that had been around for as long as it had been it wasn’t the loudest. The floor boards didn’t creak every time you walked over them, the doors didn’t screech whenever you opened them an inch at a time, and the house didn’t settle several times a day. But for all you knew a spell could’ve been casted to prevent that. 

You found comfort being on your own. Having clairvoyance was overwhelming at times. You had no control over your powers, they never had a specific trigger, so naturally you just steered clear of people in general. You figured there was no way to be given unwanted visions of the future if you just didn’t have anything to do with anyone at all. Your own loneliness was your own fault. Walking through the woods you felt the feeling of dark magic, it was a distinct feeling that you hadn’t felt often but it was unforgettable when you did. It over takes you, like a wave but instead of being able to see through the water its ink. It’s heavy, and dark. It drags you under. 

You hear several snaps of twigs behind you and slightly startled you turn to see the animal or whatever that was behind you. Ready to cast a spell incase whatever followed was a foe and not a friend you gathered your hands in front of your body, “Either you come out or it’s going to be a bad night for you.” You called out into the darkness. Several more twigs snapped under what you assumed where footsteps as a dark shape came out from behind the tree. 

“I surrender!” The figured called out with slight fear in their voice. “My hands are up!” The voice sounded so familiar as they neared towards you. Once they were within eye sight you noticed it was one of the boys from earlier, Connor. “ Take it easy there cobra kai.” He said gesturing to your hands which could be assumed in a fighting position, which they were just not the fighting position he thought it would be. 

You took your hands away from the stance they were place in front of your body, “So, you enjoy taking walks in the dark and startling people pretty boy?” You asked crossing your arms. He lowered his flashlight so he wasn’t practically blinding you anymore. He laughed lowly for a second, “To be fair with the way i was snapping twigs, if you were startled that sounds like a you deal.” 

You smiled at him for second, “I’m Connor Stevens by the way, we met earlier but i don’t know you if remember me.” He said running a hand through his hair, a nervous habit probably. “Oh so you assume that you’re unforgettable. Not a chance pretty boy.” You said taking several steps closer. Slightly taken aback once again by your boldness for the second time in the one day. “I have a name you know.” 

“Oh so you don’t find pretty boy flattering?” You asked coyly, going silence after trying to create an argument. “Thought so.” You said smiling. His eyes stayed glued onto you, his dad has taught him better than to stare. 

“Sorry, i just keep getting this deja vu feeling but i would definitely remember meeting you.” He said unfiltered getting close enough for you to catch a vision, you back up slightly and he’s hurt by this. It’s written all over his face. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” He apologized quickly and sincerely.

“Oh no i just have this thing with physical touch, it’s nothing personal. You’d remember meeting me? Are you reading into my character?” You said with a slight cockiness mixed into the tone. He nodded, “No it’s just you’re literally one of the prettiest girls i’ve ever seen.” You dropped the flashlight that you’d brought with you. You rushed forward to pick it up as did Connor, both your fingertips grazed each other.

The images flooded through your head. You saw past images first, not older than a month or so. It was dark, he was in the woods running, then there was a book of spells it looked like ever other witches book, and then he was grabbed into the dark. Inside of something that looked like a lighthouse but rotted on the inside and there was absolutely no light. Then there was present, this moment right here right now. The future was the two of you in front of the high school, you guessed. Then it was just the two of you, your aura’s with a red string connecting them at the pinkies. But then it was him holding your hands as something tried to drag you. Then it was over. 

You blinked a few times before looking back up at Connor, “Are you okay? You looked like you saw a ghost.” He said with a slight laugh dropping the flashlight into your palm like it was burning him to touch. “Something like that.” You muttered lightly and standing back up. Silence washed over, “I should probably get back home before anyone notices i’m gone.” You said. He nodded, “See you around, cobra kai?” 

“See you pretty boy.” You confirmed turning around to walk back to your house for the night. Sneaking back in just as quietly as you left. You managed to fall asleep before the sun rose this time. Once you fell asleep, the visions still lingered on a loop. Despite how much you hated it on a deep level it was comforting compared to the nightmares that had a tendency to plague you from time to time. 

The next morning your family had gotten take out from the local diner for breakfast and during the morning conversation no one mentions anything that gives away your nightly adventure. Throughout the rest of the week you and your family continues to get settled into your house. You hadn’t seen Connor on any of your nightly walks through the woods throughout the rest of the week and as the day of starting school gets closer you just assume you’ll see him along with his friends. 

Your sister and you were sitting in the office after you’d gotten your schedules and other paperwork. “We have two student volunteers who offered to show you around.” The secretary said as she handed the two of you a peppermint, Slightly disappointed, going under the impression you’d get to hang out with Connor and his friends today. The door creeks open and you turn. Gabby and Hanna enter the office, you notice through the glass pane of the door Luke, Jai and Connor standing in the hallway waiting for them. 

“Ah, Hanna Romero and Gabby Lewis. This is Y/n Amana and Ramona Amana.” She said as the two of you stood up. “If you need anything during your next few days don’t hesitate to reach out.” She said sincerely, offering a comforting smile. Your sister and you both exchanged thanks before leaving the office. 

You saw Luke nudge Connor to which he muttered a shut up, you smiled. “Nice to see you again pretty boy.” You said smirkingly, Jai looked up from his phone. “Again, you went into the haunted woods?” He said looking at Connor, who blank faced. “Thanks for ratting me out. Besides, there wasn’t anything out there other than Y/n and their fists of fury almost giving me a black eye.” He said punching you lightly in the shoulder, laughing with you. 

“What’s the deal with those woods anyway? It seems like everyone has some story about them.” Ramona asked no one specific just wanting a general answer after hearing the endless week of comments. The group went silent, “Okay so like did someone get murdered there. Some true crime type beat?” You asked as you leaned against the wall next to Connor. Leaning your head on his shoulder, he leaned his head on yours after a few moments of hesitation. 

“It’s an unbelievable story.” Jai said as he looked at the comic in his hand with a confused look and then closed it, Ramona smirked. “Oh we know a lot about those type of stories.” She said standing next to Gabby. Both were stealing looks when the other wasn’t. “Where are you guy’s from?” Hanna asked with confusion and a slight laugh. “Where aren’t we from.” You said under your breath catching the attraction of the group. 

“We’re military, we move a lot.” Ramona said. The cover story that had been engrained into you both from elementary school. “Damn that must suck.” Luke said getting elbowed by Hanna, “I mean thank you for your service.” He corrected himself. You laughed a little as Luke tried to awkwardly save himself. You saluted him, causing Connor to smile. 

“Nice bracelets.” Gabby said to Ramona, she looked down at them before looking back up. “Thanks.” She said slightly flustered and blushing. “Mo you should see if you and Gabby have any classes together.” You suggested slightly trying to wing woman. “What? Oh yeah!” She said handing over her schedule eagerly to Gabby. Soon enough the two walked off. 

“So, Hanna do you have the list for morning announcements?” Jai said, Hanna met him with a confused look as did Luke. “Announcements? Oh yeah! We’ll see you guys after home room!” As they left Connor and you in the hallway. “Your friends really lack subtly.” You said as you watched them go down the hallway, Hanna arguing with Jai while Luke occasionally looked back.

“Oh you have no idea.” He said turning back to you, “Oh! How do you feel about horror movies?” He asked reaching into his backpack. “Top three movie genre. Why?” You asked, he pulled out a small “slashers rule” pin and handed it you. “A formal apology for scaring you in the woods the other night, and you seemed like you’d like it.” He said gesturing to your backpack decorated with pins and patches, you smiled. “I love it.” His nervousness seemed to fade with those three words. “I’ve never really had friends or anyone give me something like this so, thank you.” 

“That must’ve been lonely.” He said as you shrugged, it was lonely but it was also complicated. “Yeah but i’m not lonely anymore.” You said as you subconsciously ran your thumb over the pin and looked up at him. He blushed, you’d learned he did that a lot and quite easily none the less. 

“So you ready for the shadow bay tour?” He said pushing off the wall, rubbing his hands together. Students had started to clear out of the halls paying absolutely no attention to Connor and yours’ affair in the corner. “Oh definitely. Just so you know i’ve been to four schools over the past eleven years, so you’re competing with that.” 

“Oh it’s a competition?” He said with fake outburst laced onto his voice, you nodded with a sarcastic smile that turned genuine. “I think i can handle that.” He said as you two began descending down the halls of Shadow Bay high. Despite your own personal barriers and everything you’d ever been taught in your life, you were falling for Connor. Your better judgement knew that you’d pay for that at some point in your life. Sooner or later, you always did. 

--

hello my loves! This is part one of three and i’m currently working on the other parts! 

[graceslavenderhaze]

be the sirens, { Connor Stevens}

synopsis: choosing between what is safe and staying safe are harder than it sounds.

the last part of the sirens trilogy!

They say when a witch dies, their soul doesn't go with them. It stays and waits for a new vessel. One where it can continue to have magick and flourish. You were never scared to die, you knew how dangerous magic was. But standing there with Connor, you felt that fear crash down like a wave. Your soul would come back but you wouldn't be with Connor. It would be ripped from it's home.

" I don't know what's going to happen now, or after but you should know that i've never connected with anyone the way i did you. I've never loved anyone." You said as you untangled yourself from him and walked over to you desk grabbing the small pendant in a chain. "Which means because of me you're probably in danger. Hell, all of you probably are." You said as he looked up at you with glassy eyes. You unclasped the pendant and placed it around his neck.

"That's not true." His voice was merely a whisper, in a sea of shouts. "I chose to be your friend, that night in the woods i chose to talk to you and every other time after that i chose you! I'd do it all again no matter what." He said as he swiftly stood up in front of you. "You're my lighthouse." A smile plastered across your face, as you leaned forward to kiss him.

"We should probably go back downstairs." He said, you nodded and walked back downstairs with him. "So what's the plan?" Luke asked as you two nonchalantly entered the room again. "There is no plan for you all." Mom said to your friends. "The only plan you lot are involved with is going home, locking your doors and putting salt by the windows and every entrance." She finished as they all looked slightly deflated.

"But you said it yourself we defeated the shadowman!" Jai interjected. "Kinda." Gabby said as he shot her a look. "Shadowman or not you're not witches which means if something happens. You're a liability." Upon saying that your Mom was met with looks of offense.

"She's right." All eyes had been set on you. "You guys barely survived the shadowman, no offense. My sister's life is in danger, we're used to battling darkness it's our thing." You said as your friends gaped at you. "You have to sit this round out."

"Seriously? You're gonna bring the shadowman up? You weren't even there! None of us told you until now!" Luke said as he stood up. "Luke, I told her a while ago." Connor said as he shot his friend a look for his sudden outburst. "She's right. We defeated the shadowman based on pure luck it feels! They have magic, that they know how to actually use." He said looking towards you.

"I can cast an isolation spell, no one gets it and no one gets out. It'll keep you guys safe until we figure things out and get Ramona back." You said as you hesitantly looked to your parents. They nodded, "I can take you guys to," You paused trying to figure out where you could cast the spell. "My house." Connor said as you turned towards him.

"My dad's on a fishing trip and it's not like we haven't hid from magical evil there before." He said causing most of the midnight society to make shy and apologetic faces. You nodded, "That works."

"Go to Connor's and cast the spell, then get your ass back here." You nodded, before going into the cabinet in the living room and grabbing a candle along with a stick of chalk. You grabbed your bag and slipped them into it. You grabbed your keys as you nodded towards your friends. "I'll follow you guys to his house."

Gabby, Jai, Seth, Hanna and Luke all got into the minivan as Connor stayed back. "I'm gonna ride with you." He said, you nodded as you walked over to the car. Upon leaving your driveway and taking the drive through the woods you'd grown fond of. "What happens after this?" Connor's voice broke through the silence that had been suffocating the two of you, no radio only the engines hum.

"Well, we usually move to another town after something like this happens." You said as you impatiently let your thumbs tap against the steering wheel. "What happens to us?" He said his voice low and hesitant. "I don't know." You responded biting down on your bottom lip.

"I've never had anything that i left behind before actually make me wish i'd stay." You'd never regretted leaving anything behind ever, it wasn't because you were mature enough to know that it was for the best. While that was a benefactor it wasn't the main reason, it was the fact that nothing was ever lasting. You couldn't see yourself a few years in the future being friends with anyone you were loosely friends with.

"Where do you think you guys will go?" You turned your heads towards him. You shrugged, "Can we just not talk about it." Less than twenty four hours ago you were talking about joining the midnight society thinking that you'd be around for longer than you assumed. Now, you were back at the uncomfortable place you'd always hated deep down, leaving.

But instead it wasn't pulling the boxes out because you'd always kept them. Or the worn down bubble wrap being thrown out. It was the knowing that other people would move into the house and live lives as if you were never there, like you never existed. That feeling always lingered despite the constantly war you had mentally with it. It was a bucket of cold water getting you out of bed everyday, the flame that grew bigger, the noise in the night that even though there is a logical explanation you chose to believe in the illogical. It's the chaos in the storm that rips away the calm.

This was your storm and shadow bay was no longer your calm. It wouldn't be after this. It couldn't be. You'd never return again. "I can't talk about the moment i've been dreading since i came to town. It's just too much right now." He nodded and focused his attention to something else, like a child being denied of something and then forgetting moments later.

The silence had once again washed over the two of you for the rest of the drive to his house. Once you stopped the car it hit you that this might be one of the last times you'd see your friends, no matter how it ended with the shadow servants. As you neared towards his house it felt like there was a hour glass glued to a table. You wondered how many times you've ran from this feeling, how many times you'd continue to run and if you'd ever feel it again.

"Wait!" You called out as you neared towards to door. He turned his face screwed up in confusion. "What's wrong?" He asked, not knowing what had been the cause to the sudden change. You lunged forward towards him, your warm lips upon his. Every emotion he felt, you felt, and your own emotions blurred with his. The wave of emotions washed over you, but it wasn't unbearable like it usually was. It felt comforting, safe almost like a warm blanket on a rainy day.

"Was that a goodbye kiss?" His words fell swift and poured onto you, as you shook your head. "No, it's a until i see you again kiss." You said as you broke apart and he walked towards the door. "Until i see you again." He said to you as he opened the door and closed it, leaving you outside to cast the spell.

You could see your friends watching you from the window of the Steven's residence. It wasn't flashy or big like it was with the book of shadows magic. It was airy almost, like if they hadn't been looking for it. They'd never see it. The chalk that drew a sigil had faded into nothing. The only thing that remained as they watched you walk away was the ring of salt in front of the door, and your magic. They watched as you walked away from the only friends you'd ever had, as you risked everything you wanted to do what was right.

"Are we ever going to see them again?" Seth voice had created a part in the sea of silence. "They never said goodbye." Hanna said as Gabby looked crushed. "I never told Mona how i felt." Her voice was small and sorrow filled. Jai stayed silent, not finding any comedic material for once. Luke looked at his best friend, "I'm sorry Connor."

"It wasn't a goodbye, i'll see them again." He repeated, to himself more than his friends. He'd see you again, no matter what he had to do. If he had to kick and crawl to you. He would, no matter the cost.

Your tears had coated your face upon entering the car. The mirror revealed a hoodie of his that he'd left one afternoon. You took it as a sign, you'd see him again. Even if it meant you lose everything, even if it meant getting hurt, no matter what.

Hours later, you sat in your living room with your family. Ramona quieter than ever, safe. Your moms in the kitchen making tea. You sat there thinking, the isolation spell had worn off not so long ago. "We're leaving again, aren't we?" Ramona asked, causing both your moms to contemplate. "I don't think we really have a choice sweetheart." Mum said, You scoffed.

"What the actual fuck is the point of having magic if all it does is destroy everything." You said bluntly. "All we do is run and run. What's the point of fight or flight when we always fly?"

"It keeps us safe, that's the point." Mom said as she lent over the table slightly, "Your grandma has a friend in new orleans, who offered us a place to lay low for a few weeks to figure out our next move."

"When do we leave?" You didn't care nor did you want the answer. "Sometime tomorrow." You nodded sourly, another move into a furbished house, only carrying the material items you could pack into a few boxes with a bottom less charm. "I want to stay." Ramona said looking outwards. "So does y/n!" She continued. "No one wants to move again, just let us stay and be normal for once!"

"You're not normal, we've been over this." Mom has given you this talk thousands of times before. You stood up pushing your chair in, grabbing your tea and going into your room. You pulled out a unused notebook. Writing goodbye letter to your friends, and Connor. You left nothing unsaid. You thanked them for finally giving you something worth regretting leaving.

You snuck out to drop them off at Connor's house, sliding them under the door. Seeing through the window all your friends asleep throughout the living room. Your tears flowed freely, "Goodbye. And thank you." You spoke knowing they wouldn't hear you and only the wind would carry your words.

When you got home, the pure exhaustion washed over you. You woke up the next morning to rain, and your moms packing slightly. Your phone was filled with messages and missed calls. You turned it off. It was too painful.

You were silent all breakfast and when packing you only brought the essentials for now, you'd be returning in a few weeks after the decision was made. You threw your bags into your car as you were slightly soaked by the rain. Your moms sitting in the car as you locked the front door. Gabby's car pulled up in the driveway and before it stopped Connor had jumped out the passenger door.

You said it wasn't a goodbye!" He said as he held up the letter, "This feelings like fucking goodbye!" His words had pained dripping from them. You rushed forward wrapping your arms around him. "I'm sorry." Your tears flowed freely.

"One day when we're older, and i don't have to give a shit about anyone other than myself," You hiccupped. "I'll come back for us." You would, like a rubber band. You'd snap right back.

"Why wait, why can't we have now." His forehead against yours as the rain soaked you both. "I don't know." You whispered.

"But you proved that i still get good things, that you are a good thing. I know we're real, you're my soulmate. I saw it. My visions never lie." You said as you grabbed the pendant on his neck.

"I always knew you felt like a soulmate to me, but the universe keeps ripping you away." His tears mixing with the rain that covered him. "We'll come back to each other, we have to! There's no one else." You said as you broke apart.

"I love you, with everything i have and everything i lost." He said as he kissed you again. "I love you with all my heart and my magic." As you kissed again.

Thunder had started to rumble, a sign that it was soon to leave. "I hate the universe for giving you to me when it wasn't the right time." He said as his voice was hoarse. "If we fight hard enough, it'll make our right time even better." You said as you cupped his face in your hands.

You fought for Connor your whole life, before you met, while you knew him and for the rest of your life. You were destined to meet him, no matter what the universe threw, Connor Stevens would be there. Name the time and the place. He'd always be there.

[graceslavenderhaze]

ohh okay so can i pretty please get a connor stevens x reader from ayaotd where the midnight society members yes including my child seth please (sans connor and y/n) where after everything that happened with the shadowman, they're kinda exasperated they haven't gotten together yet but in reality they've just been sneaking out and secretly dating the whole time??? and they can find out or something idk i just crave reading a secret dating trope fic rn lmao. ps take all the time you need i don't mind !! sorry if this is a bad idea you don't have to do it though

I’m such a slut for secret dating trope like it’s just such *chefs kiss* , I’ll try to get it out some time this week! 💖

[adalwolfgang]

Dude it is rare to see fanfics about this guy. Especially x reader. I loved this sm and will treasure it.

My Ballerina

Mr. Tophat x Fem reader

Summary: A few years ago you were one of the main attractions at the "Carnival of Doom". The entire audience wanted to see you dance gracefully on top of a metal hoop. You were Mr. Tophat's pride, one day you managed to escape the spell that had you trapped at his mercy but unlike what happened to the others, you remembered everything. It's time to return to the stage once, and to his side.

Warnings: Suggestive, hurt comfort maybe, a bit of angst with a happy ending, canon divergence (I don't know if it's well written but basically I mean I took creative liberties because I haven't seen the series 😭)

Wc: 4k

You were the star of the show, you were his star. You called yourself "La fée de l'air" which means the fairy of the air for the simple fact that you had an ethereal aura and it seemed like you were flying when you climbed onto the metal hoop and spun and made arabesques with your hands in the air. Other times you would go ashore and dance in the middle of the circus tent going around and around. Your slender figure and your delicate hands with long, bony fingers hypnotized people, you had great control of your body and you could bend and stretch and jump without getting tired, you were like an angel fallen from heaven. But who was most surprised by you was the circus presenter himself. He had found you some time ago when you were dancing in the streets to earn a little money, and from that day on he was enchanted by your beauty and your talent for moving and he told himself that he had to have you in his circus no matter what.

It was not difficult for him to manipulate and bewitch you to accompany him to his circus, he promised you great rewards and great popularity. All of that pleased you enormously, but even more so did his presence. His mysterious energy that sometimes even alarmed because of how dark it could be, but beyond that in the depths of his beautiful green eyes you saw something else, perhaps kindness or a wandering and wounded soul like a caged bird longing for freedom. Anyway, now you practically lived in the carnival and with him the days were more interesting, and the coming ones too, you were sure. Although… sometimes, you didn't know why, you felt like he was hiding something. And something shady. Sometimes you saw him talking to himself or having sudden mood changes as if two voices lived inside him and his head, far from scaring you, you felt sorry and worried for him, you wanted to help him but you didn't know how.

But although he tried to hide it, sometimes it was very evident, and it was noticeable in his functions. Sometimes he could change the entire planned itinerary and introduce you at the beginning or the end depending on his mood, but that was not all, sometimes his shows were a bit… macabre. From time to time you tried to ignore it or look away but the uncomfortable feeling wouldn't go away. But when that didn't happen he was really charming and charismatic and always came to see you in your dressing room waiting for you to be ready.

*Knock knock*

You were putting on your makeup in front of the light bulb mirror when suddenly a soft knock on your door caught your attention and made you spin around in your seat.

"Yes! come in!"

When the person opened the door you saw the man who had given you the opportunity to fulfill your dreams (and it could be said that you fulfilled his). Mr. Tophat leaned against the door frame crossing one foot in front of the other, he was wearing black and white striped pants and a blood red jacket, he carried his usual cane in one hand and with the other he touched his fingers to his hat greeting you with a nod of the head

"How is my star? Are you ready?"

"I'm almost ready". You said smiling

Mr. Tophat approached from behind with elegant steps and watched you from the mirror as you got ready. When you were ready you asked him what he thought.

"So? What do you think?"

He crouched down a little until his face was level with yours, peeking his face from behind your shoulder, he dedicated himself to contemplating your features and your makeup with a thoughtful gesture. You just watched as his eyes ran over your face and hair through the mirror. When he had finished he said solemnly

"You are beautiful my little fairy but I think you are missing something…"

He put his hand behind his back and pulled out a large, fresh white rose with a soft, sweet aroma.

"…to enhance your beauty"

You were stunned seeing the most beautiful and delicate flower that you had in front of you, the more surprised you were at how he had managed to make a rose appear out of nowhere, but hey, he was also a magician so. Marcus slowly placed the rose in your hair and then smiled at you in the mirror.

"Perfect, now you are ready"

He rubbed both of your shoulders to give you encouragement and courage, even though you didn't need it. You got up in your outfit that consisted of a mother-of-pearl bodysuit with a short white transparent satin skirt, your ballet slippers were also white and your hair was curly and messy. You had glued small pearls on your face and on your eyelids there was light blue glitter. You really looked like a fantasy being. Mr. Tophat stood next to you and you placed your hand on his to which he gave you a good luck kiss, placing his lips lightly on your knuckles.

"Show time"

He came out first to greet the public, he stood in the middle of the track with the spotlight illuminating his tall figure. With a big smile and open arms he started the show. There were clowns, contortionists, jugglers, etc. People seemed to laugh and have fun but Marcus had left you for the big finale because he knew that people would be left with that feeling of having seen the best last.

"And now ladies and gentlemen of the audience, I present to you La fée de l'air!"

People applauded when they saw you appear slowly descending from the ceiling sitting on the hoop. It seemed like time had frozen and people only had eyes for you. The lights above you made your skin and clothes shine and stand out. From below Mr. Tophat looked at you smiling proudly with his eyes shining with admiration. You did dizzying laps that left the audience stunned and you hung from the hoop with your legs bent while you moved your arms. But the best thing was when you went down to land, you danced with all the passion that your body allowed you, you not only danced with your feet but also with your heart. You put body and soul into every step and you silently dedicated them to the man who was always by your side. Your body and face expressed what words never could have done. Suddenly you did a Jeté Entrelacé in a magnificent way and people gasped with excitement. After you finished your dance, people stood up and applauded wildly. You made several bows excitedly and with a huge smile

After finishing greeting the audience and blowing several kisses with your hands, you left the center of the circus and headed towards your dressing room. The show continued without interruptions and when it was over people happily left their seats. Excited and about to cry with happiness, you entered your caravan and began to remove your makeup. You felt so full and satisfied when you were dancing in the air, the applause of the people, the screams of contained emotion, the dreamy eyes of Marcus looking at you from below…ah, there was nothing better than that. You had already gotten rid of your makeup and had taken off your skirt, leaving you in your pearly bodysuit. You took a bristle brush and began to gently comb your curls. That's when you heard another soft knock on your door, but this time they didn't surprise you.

"Please, come in". You said with a velvety voice

The same man who minutes before had visited you with his tall and stoic figure, returned to make his presence before you with the brim of his hat over his eyes, revealing only his Cheshire smile.

"Ah here's my favorite ballerina"

The ringleader approached you again but this time from the front. With his elegant steps and his cane echoing on the wooden floor. Thump thump thump. He crouched down to your height, one hand resting loosely on the tip of the cane. The other hand traveled under your chin and with his index finger he raised it to look at you better. Now his hat didn't cover his eyes and you could see that mischievous glint in them. Green like emeralds, fields or forests that penetrated your soul

"You were brilliant as always, my dear". He purred

Oh God. His words in another's mouth would have sounded empty and broken like a dirty compliment, but on his lips they sounded silky and passionate. Mr. Tophat was not only a great circus performer but also a great lover. You closed your eyes letting his warm breath and his syrupy flirtations collide head-on in your face. When you opened them again he had leaned his face closer to yours until they were only a few centimeters away. The handsome Machiavellian ringleader wasted no time in running his gaze over your eyes and your full lips, almost inadvertently moistening his own.

"I would love to reward you for being such a good girl. Would you like that my faithful assistant?"

His lips barely touched yours and his breath hit your barely open mouth, tickling you. His gesture was even sinful. His hand that was on your chin was placed on the side of your jaw and he stroked it with his gloved thumb. Yes, yes you wanted to.

"Yeah... please..". You meowed softly

Mr. Tophat growled lewdly in response and brought his mouth to yours. His chapped lips swelled yours with wet, desperate kisses. His hunger for you was voracious. With his gloved hands he separated your thighs and placed his knee in the middle of the seat, bringing his body closer and closer to yours. Every gasp and moan that came out of your mouth was silenced. Your hands climbed up his back and tangled tightly in his wavy hair, knocking his hat to the ground. He broke the kiss with his swollen pink lips.

"Y/n, my Y/n I don't know what I would do without you, tell me you love me…please". He said breathlessly

His tone was almost distressed and his eyes were glassy. A mixture of desire and affliction swirled in his dilated pupils like a tidal wave. He looked at you like a puppy desperate for affection and you felt sorry for him. You had been aware of his drastic mood swings before and this seemed like one of them. The one who spoke to you now was not his eccentric character or alter ego that he had created known as Mr. Tophat, no, now the one who addressed you was Marcus Cochran, a scared man and prisoner of a body and a curse of which he never wanted to be a part. , although you didn't know that until later

"I love you with all my heart, thanks to you I'm here today"

You kissed him again and he ran his passionate hands over your hips until they reached the height of your ribs.

"Will you stay with me? Do you promise to never leave me?"

"I-"

Suddenly a knock on the door made you jump and Marcus turned his head towards the sound. When the door began to open he jumped off of you and you got up from your seat quickly. They were both blushing. A muscular man with funny mustaches holding several daggers in his hands clumsily entered.

"Sorry for the interruption, master, but I wanted to ask you some questions about my next act."

The ringleader ran his hand through his hair nervously and angrily, his pleading gestures and benevolent eyes had disappeared giving way to the demonic appearance that he sometimes seemed to have. With a grunt he lifted his hat and placed it on his head.

"What a good time you chose to interrupt, but it's okay, I'll help you with your act". He snorted ironically.

Before closing the door behind him he looked out and smiling enigmatically told you

"Don't worry, this isn't over darling."

The days passed and you continued acting and dancing and after the performances your lover would sneak into your dressing room to reward you. But suddenly, one day, everything went terribly wrong. Marcus had left the carnival on important business that he did not want to reveal, but he had left his cane. You weren't sure if he had forgotten it or just left it there on purpose since it practically didn't come off his cane. That object had always caught your attention, it was so strange and peculiar that it even seemed to have a strong influence on Mr. Tophat, as if the cane were the one controlling the person and not its host. The staff topped with a luminous orb was in Marcus's dressing room. You headed there and when you opened the door you couldn't stop a wave of sensations from pushing you. As if a strange and evil magic pulled you like a taut rope. The staff shone with its own light, a mixture of yellows and oranges and in the center a white light like that of a lighthouse. Your eyes widened and you couldn't help but let your fingers barely caress the surface of the polished orb. When you did, an expansive slingshot like a nuclear explosion ran through your entire body with a painful electric shock and expanded outward and surrounded the entire circus. You almost fainted but managed to stay upright by holding on to the table. Your mind that was previously agonizing in a confusing and blinding fog was now completely clear like a sun peeking its rays through the clouds after a storm. Of course, he had bewitched you, that was the explanation for everything, because you felt so comfortable and you had never complained. You left his dressing room in a hurry and scared, the people also seemed to have woken up from the cruel spell they were under, as if they had woken up from a cloud of intoxicated drowsiness.

People started running away in terror and you did the same. You ran with all your strength towards the outskirts of the carnival of doom. It was night outside and a light drizzle was beginning to wet your nightgown and robe. You were barefoot so your feet were slipping on the stones and filled with mud which made it difficult to escape. The forest was thick and the trees looked like black, skeletal ghosts wanting to scratch you with their branches. Suddenly you thought you heard a deep, shrill voice among the thickets of the trees, but it was so dark that you couldn't see anything. Your heart hammered in your chest as you continued running but the voice continued to echo everywhere, even in your head.

"Why do you run away from me?!". The voice growled

You turned your head in all directions trying to see who was speaking but you already knew whose voice it was. Mr. Tophat appeared and disappeared like a ghost in the forest, stalking you like a wolf. You turned around desperately until you were dizzy trying to guess where he would appear this time, and as if he had emerged from the center of the earth, the ringleader stood right in front of you at a considered distance.

"I thought you would stay with me..." . He threatening little warning lowering the chin

He was getting closer to you and you backed away terrified, in many years of living with him he had never acted so creepy with you, almost as if you were a poor devil to be martyred and stunned.

"What's wrong my sweet Y/n? Are you afraid of me?"

His magpie laughter echoed throughout the forest like a pitiful echo.

"I can smell fear, remember?"

He got even closer and you went back as far as you could until you fell and continued crawling with your hands resting on the ground. The humidity of the mud rose to your nose, the dirt dirty your clothes and stuck to your nails, and the soft but incessant drizzle soaked your hair and face. You looked terrible and your eyebrows curved in an upward arc of fear and anguish. Seeing you like this, something in Marcus seemed to awaken because his gloomy and intimidating face changed to an expression of fear and concern for you. Hesitantly he approached with slower and more uncertain steps as if he were afraid of scaring away a badly injured rabbit. He approached you cautiously and you instinctively moved further away. Now he seemed hurt by this gesture and his face expressed more sadness, a hand gently approached your bare foot and placed itself on your ankle, you waited for a firm grip or for his fingers to dig into your flesh but nothing of the sort happened. Marcus's hand almost seemed to float on your skin as he didn't take his eyes off of you, and you could see that they were wet. You didn't understand what was happening to him and it was making you nervous, you looked at each other in silence trying to discover each other's thoughts. When you couldn't take more than one slap, you took his fingers off your ankle and ran in another direction, away from him. Very far

"No wait Y/n please…!"

Marcus stood up from the ground and watched you leave with a broken heart. He extended his arms in a useless attempt to catch you but you were already far away, as if that simple action of his fingers touching the air had been enough for you to come back. his side floating like a butterfly. His appearance as a child abandoned by his mother changed drastically and his easy features became hard. He clenched his jaw and clenched his fists, roughly removing his hat and throwing it to the floor. In a tantrum he screamed at the top of his lungs.

“Y/N I TOLD YOU TO COME BACK!!!”. He howled

His war cry echoed throughout the forest and scared away some crows that flew out of the branches of the bare and dry trees. You turned your head back to see if he was chasing you but he had disappeared. Through the forest the only thing that remained echoing were your footsteps, but in your mind his words continued to flutter like flies.

“Y/N I TOLD YOU TO COME BACK!!!” “Y/N I TOLD YOU TO COME BACK!!!” “Y/N I TOLD YOU TO COME-!"

The months passed and you returned to your sweet home. It took you a while to recover from the shock you had experienced and understand and process what had really happened. Mr. Tophat's manipulations, lies and false promises had affected you more than you wanted to admit. And it could be said that you were not handling the improvement process very well, since by not dancing in the circuses you had to go back to dancing in the streets and honestly it was not as fun as doing it at the carnival. People hardly looked at you and not everyone left a tip. And your home no longer felt the same as before, even though it was your real home you felt that something was missing, an emptiness oppressed your chest and you didn't know why. One day you picked up the newspaper that was always left at your door and when you read it you almost spit out the coffee you had put in your mouth. The newspaper mentioned a circus called "Carnival of Doom" and showed a photo of its ringleader. Would that man even chase you in the photos? The article told how that strange individual had dared to kidnap children and people by bewitching them and taking them to his circus, but what surprised you the most was that when they were freed the people had erased from their minds all memories of the Carnival of Doom and Mr. Tophat. You folded the diary and left it on the table reflecting. Why were you the only one who remembered everything? It didn't seem to be something Tophat planned. Did that make you someone supernatural too? You shook your head overwhelmed. Suddenly you started thinking about all the things you had experienced with him, the good and the bad. And you realized that that man could not be entirely evil, in life there are not only blacks or whites. No person is completely good and no person is completely bad.

You clung to the hope that the man who begged you to stay with him, who looked at you scared and worried as he caressed your ankle couldn't be the same one who screamed and grumbled when something didn't go according to his plan. The man who feared for his own life was Marcus, you had fallen in love with him, not Mr. Tophat. With all those arguments you decided to put on a coat and face your fears, you would go to where it all started and you would put an end to that torment. This time the sky was clear but there were no moon or stars. You went outside with a flashlight and headed to the place of your memories. The circus now looked more gloomy and depressing than before. The paint looked old and corroded and the tip of the tent was deflated and hanging limply to one side. When you were under the spell you had never realized how horrible that place was, everything seemed abandoned and dark. When you entered the circus tent you saw that it was all dark, with your flashlight you swept the place but suddenly the light began to flicker and went off. Great, you thought.

A laugh that was first soft and then louder alerted all your senses. A light turned on and the ringleader appeared standing to your right with his staff in his hand. Everything was dark so the light that illuminated him seemed even more powerful.

"So we meet again…What do you want from me?"

You were going to answer but the light went out and everything returned to darkness, uselessly searching for his image in the shadows. Another ceiling light turned on this time to your left and a little further away near the stands Tophat appeared again.

"Why don't you run from me uh?"

The man's smile was psychotic and hypnotizing and before you could say a word again the electricity went off again and his laughter echoed throughout the tent. His macabre games were making you nervous, he knew how to create the perfect environment to generate suspense and fear, his favorite emotions. Once again he appeared in front of you sitting with one leg crossed in front of the other and one hand under his chin.

"Why aren't you scared of me?... Or are you?"

"Stop it!". You yelled

His laughter sounded louder and closer as the lights went out again. It seemed like thousands of laughs and not just one. You covered your ears, wanting to wake up from that nightmare but unfortunately, it was real and you were wide awake. Again his voice was heard in the darkness and you got goosebumps when you felt it right behind you.

"But more importantly, what do you know?"

A light turned on behind you and when you turned around you saw his smiling face right above yours. He looked at you as if you were his favorite prey about to be devoured. You stifled a scream of terror. His features were more accentuated and seemed more threatening because the light did not shine fully on him and his hat cast macabre shadows on his skin. His eyes looked sickly and abnormally greener than usual. Being tall, he could lean over you as much as he wanted and that intimidated you. You swallowed and said with a trembling voice.

"I know everything and I remember everything too"

This seemed to disconcert him a little but he kept his expression firm and with a sudden movement he grabbed your wrists and tightened his grip until it made you hurt and scream. With a strong pull he brought you closer to his chest. His eyes never stopped seeing yours

"Oh really? And what will you do about it mon amour?". He said in perfect French accent

You shook and struggled but you couldn't escape him, he had a very good grip on you. You sighed tiredly and rested your head on his chest. He was surprised by this gesture but since he thought it was some kind of deception and trap, he did not loosen his fingers on your wrists. Just talk to yourself from the heart

"Marcus listen to me, I know you're there. Deep down behind all this horrible facade I know that a good man is hiding, the man I fell in love with. Please Marcus, fight, I want you to come out."

Mr. Tophat's eyes widened and he seemed to turn pale. You felt like his grip had loosened a little but not enough to let you go. You looked into his eyes and realized that they were shiny again.

"You do not know what you say…"

"Yes I know. I know you did all this to fulfill your dreams but you messed with the wrong people and now you are paying the price. Don't let others be part of this madness"

The man frowned and his lips began to tremble, it seemed that inside him a fierce battle was being waged over who would take control, Marcus or his alter ego. A light of hope seemed to pass through your eyes as his expressions seemed to soften and he looked at you with another look, one that asked for help and compassion, a look that he wanted to believe you. But that quickly changed when he tightened his grip again and pulled your wrists closer to his chest, also bringing your face just five centimeters from yours.

"And why do you care for me?". His eyes were cold and hard

"Because I know you're suffering and I don't like seeing you like this, you don't deserve anything you're suffering. I know your intentions were good. Please, Marcus, I love you and I want you to be okay. I want this all to end."

Something in him seemed to break because he let go of your wrists and his face expressed fear and concern, his eyebrows curled into a depressed frown and he looked at you as if it were the first time he had seen you. His lips trembled as tears fell from his eyes. His corners turned slightly downward in a pout. That was the real Marcus

"Y/n…I…I'm so sorry.."

With a sob he embraced you, wrapping his arms around your neck and pressed you against him in search of affection and containment. You wrapped your arms under his armpits and caressed his back, whispering tender and comforting words, managing to calm and comfort him.

"I don't know what to do now, without the cane I'm nothing" . His voice was muffled in the crook of your neck

"That's not true, together we can create something new and better. Besides, now I'm by your side, I promise to stay and never leave again."

He pulled away from you and looked at you hopefully. You smiled and then directed his gaze to the cane that was still in his hand. You extended your palm ordering him to give you the object. He seemed to hesitate, avoiding eye contact. A few seconds passed that seemed like forever until he finally handed you his cane with his hand trembling. You took it and after looking at it for a moment you smashed it against the ground, breaking it into pieces, startling Mrcus. At that moment the whole place seemed to calm down and you felt that you could breathe a new atmosphere, one calm and free of danger. You looked at your loved one again and now he smiled at you with relief and all traces of demonic evil dissolved in his gaze. He was a free man

"Thank you, thank you for everything". He said kissing your knuckles and shedding tears of happiness.

"You don't have to thank anything, it was the least I could do for you, and for everyone"

You wiped away his tears with love and tenderly kissed his lips. He delicately surrounds your waist. When you broke the kiss he caressed your cheekbone with his thumb.

"As you say, the show must go on. But this time let's start a better one"

********************************************************************

Oh will I ever write about characters I know and have seen their series/movie? Haha no

[adalwolfgang]

Kudos to you my friend cause you wrote this beautifully without having much knowledge about it.

My Ballerina

Mr. Tophat x Fem reader

Summary: A few years ago you were one of the main attractions at the "Carnival of Doom". The entire audience wanted to see you dance gracefully on top of a metal hoop. You were Mr. Tophat's pride, one day you managed to escape the spell that had you trapped at his mercy but unlike what happened to the others, you remembered everything. It's time to return to the stage once, and to his side.

Warnings: Suggestive, hurt comfort maybe, a bit of angst with a happy ending, canon divergence (I don't know if it's well written but basically I mean I took creative liberties because I haven't seen the series 😭)

Wc: 4k

You were the star of the show, you were his star. You called yourself "La fée de l'air" which means the fairy of the air for the simple fact that you had an ethereal aura and it seemed like you were flying when you climbed onto the metal hoop and spun and made arabesques with your hands in the air. Other times you would go ashore and dance in the middle of the circus tent going around and around. Your slender figure and your delicate hands with long, bony fingers hypnotized people, you had great control of your body and you could bend and stretch and jump without getting tired, you were like an angel fallen from heaven. But who was most surprised by you was the circus presenter himself. He had found you some time ago when you were dancing in the streets to earn a little money, and from that day on he was enchanted by your beauty and your talent for moving and he told himself that he had to have you in his circus no matter what.

It was not difficult for him to manipulate and bewitch you to accompany him to his circus, he promised you great rewards and great popularity. All of that pleased you enormously, but even more so did his presence. His mysterious energy that sometimes even alarmed because of how dark it could be, but beyond that in the depths of his beautiful green eyes you saw something else, perhaps kindness or a wandering and wounded soul like a caged bird longing for freedom. Anyway, now you practically lived in the carnival and with him the days were more interesting, and the coming ones too, you were sure. Although… sometimes, you didn't know why, you felt like he was hiding something. And something shady. Sometimes you saw him talking to himself or having sudden mood changes as if two voices lived inside him and his head, far from scaring you, you felt sorry and worried for him, you wanted to help him but you didn't know how.

But although he tried to hide it, sometimes it was very evident, and it was noticeable in his functions. Sometimes he could change the entire planned itinerary and introduce you at the beginning or the end depending on his mood, but that was not all, sometimes his shows were a bit… macabre. From time to time you tried to ignore it or look away but the uncomfortable feeling wouldn't go away. But when that didn't happen he was really charming and charismatic and always came to see you in your dressing room waiting for you to be ready.

*Knock knock*

You were putting on your makeup in front of the light bulb mirror when suddenly a soft knock on your door caught your attention and made you spin around in your seat.

"Yes! come in!"

When the person opened the door you saw the man who had given you the opportunity to fulfill your dreams (and it could be said that you fulfilled his). Mr. Tophat leaned against the door frame crossing one foot in front of the other, he was wearing black and white striped pants and a blood red jacket, he carried his usual cane in one hand and with the other he touched his fingers to his hat greeting you with a nod of the head

"How is my star? Are you ready?"

"I'm almost ready". You said smiling

Mr. Tophat approached from behind with elegant steps and watched you from the mirror as you got ready. When you were ready you asked him what he thought.

"So? What do you think?"

He crouched down a little until his face was level with yours, peeking his face from behind your shoulder, he dedicated himself to contemplating your features and your makeup with a thoughtful gesture. You just watched as his eyes ran over your face and hair through the mirror. When he had finished he said solemnly

"You are beautiful my little fairy but I think you are missing something…"

He put his hand behind his back and pulled out a large, fresh white rose with a soft, sweet aroma.

"…to enhance your beauty"

You were stunned seeing the most beautiful and delicate flower that you had in front of you, the more surprised you were at how he had managed to make a rose appear out of nowhere, but hey, he was also a magician so. Marcus slowly placed the rose in your hair and then smiled at you in the mirror.

"Perfect, now you are ready"

He rubbed both of your shoulders to give you encouragement and courage, even though you didn't need it. You got up in your outfit that consisted of a mother-of-pearl bodysuit with a short white transparent satin skirt, your ballet slippers were also white and your hair was curly and messy. You had glued small pearls on your face and on your eyelids there was light blue glitter. You really looked like a fantasy being. Mr. Tophat stood next to you and you placed your hand on his to which he gave you a good luck kiss, placing his lips lightly on your knuckles.

"Show time"

He came out first to greet the public, he stood in the middle of the track with the spotlight illuminating his tall figure. With a big smile and open arms he started the show. There were clowns, contortionists, jugglers, etc. People seemed to laugh and have fun but Marcus had left you for the big finale because he knew that people would be left with that feeling of having seen the best last.

"And now ladies and gentlemen of the audience, I present to you La fée de l'air!"

People applauded when they saw you appear slowly descending from the ceiling sitting on the hoop. It seemed like time had frozen and people only had eyes for you. The lights above you made your skin and clothes shine and stand out. From below Mr. Tophat looked at you smiling proudly with his eyes shining with admiration. You did dizzying laps that left the audience stunned and you hung from the hoop with your legs bent while you moved your arms. But the best thing was when you went down to land, you danced with all the passion that your body allowed you, you not only danced with your feet but also with your heart. You put body and soul into every step and you silently dedicated them to the man who was always by your side. Your body and face expressed what words never could have done. Suddenly you did a Jeté Entrelacé in a magnificent way and people gasped with excitement. After you finished your dance, people stood up and applauded wildly. You made several bows excitedly and with a huge smile

After finishing greeting the audience and blowing several kisses with your hands, you left the center of the circus and headed towards your dressing room. The show continued without interruptions and when it was over people happily left their seats. Excited and about to cry with happiness, you entered your caravan and began to remove your makeup. You felt so full and satisfied when you were dancing in the air, the applause of the people, the screams of contained emotion, the dreamy eyes of Marcus looking at you from below…ah, there was nothing better than that. You had already gotten rid of your makeup and had taken off your skirt, leaving you in your pearly bodysuit. You took a bristle brush and began to gently comb your curls. That's when you heard another soft knock on your door, but this time they didn't surprise you.

"Please, come in". You said with a velvety voice

The same man who minutes before had visited you with his tall and stoic figure, returned to make his presence before you with the brim of his hat over his eyes, revealing only his Cheshire smile.

"Ah here's my favorite ballerina"

The ringleader approached you again but this time from the front. With his elegant steps and his cane echoing on the wooden floor. Thump thump thump. He crouched down to your height, one hand resting loosely on the tip of the cane. The other hand traveled under your chin and with his index finger he raised it to look at you better. Now his hat didn't cover his eyes and you could see that mischievous glint in them. Green like emeralds, fields or forests that penetrated your soul

"You were brilliant as always, my dear". He purred

Oh God. His words in another's mouth would have sounded empty and broken like a dirty compliment, but on his lips they sounded silky and passionate. Mr. Tophat was not only a great circus performer but also a great lover. You closed your eyes letting his warm breath and his syrupy flirtations collide head-on in your face. When you opened them again he had leaned his face closer to yours until they were only a few centimeters away. The handsome Machiavellian ringleader wasted no time in running his gaze over your eyes and your full lips, almost inadvertently moistening his own.

"I would love to reward you for being such a good girl. Would you like that my faithful assistant?"

His lips barely touched yours and his breath hit your barely open mouth, tickling you. His gesture was even sinful. His hand that was on your chin was placed on the side of your jaw and he stroked it with his gloved thumb. Yes, yes you wanted to.

"Yeah... please..". You meowed softly

Mr. Tophat growled lewdly in response and brought his mouth to yours. His chapped lips swelled yours with wet, desperate kisses. His hunger for you was voracious. With his gloved hands he separated your thighs and placed his knee in the middle of the seat, bringing his body closer and closer to yours. Every gasp and moan that came out of your mouth was silenced. Your hands climbed up his back and tangled tightly in his wavy hair, knocking his hat to the ground. He broke the kiss with his swollen pink lips.

"Y/n, my Y/n I don't know what I would do without you, tell me you love me…please". He said breathlessly

His tone was almost distressed and his eyes were glassy. A mixture of desire and affliction swirled in his dilated pupils like a tidal wave. He looked at you like a puppy desperate for affection and you felt sorry for him. You had been aware of his drastic mood swings before and this seemed like one of them. The one who spoke to you now was not his eccentric character or alter ego that he had created known as Mr. Tophat, no, now the one who addressed you was Marcus Cochran, a scared man and prisoner of a body and a curse of which he never wanted to be a part. , although you didn't know that until later

"I love you with all my heart, thanks to you I'm here today"

You kissed him again and he ran his passionate hands over your hips until they reached the height of your ribs.

"Will you stay with me? Do you promise to never leave me?"

"I-"

Suddenly a knock on the door made you jump and Marcus turned his head towards the sound. When the door began to open he jumped off of you and you got up from your seat quickly. They were both blushing. A muscular man with funny mustaches holding several daggers in his hands clumsily entered.

"Sorry for the interruption, master, but I wanted to ask you some questions about my next act."

The ringleader ran his hand through his hair nervously and angrily, his pleading gestures and benevolent eyes had disappeared giving way to the demonic appearance that he sometimes seemed to have. With a grunt he lifted his hat and placed it on his head.

"What a good time you chose to interrupt, but it's okay, I'll help you with your act". He snorted ironically.

Before closing the door behind him he looked out and smiling enigmatically told you

"Don't worry, this isn't over darling."

The days passed and you continued acting and dancing and after the performances your lover would sneak into your dressing room to reward you. But suddenly, one day, everything went terribly wrong. Marcus had left the carnival on important business that he did not want to reveal, but he had left his cane. You weren't sure if he had forgotten it or just left it there on purpose since it practically didn't come off his cane. That object had always caught your attention, it was so strange and peculiar that it even seemed to have a strong influence on Mr. Tophat, as if the cane were the one controlling the person and not its host. The staff topped with a luminous orb was in Marcus's dressing room. You headed there and when you opened the door you couldn't stop a wave of sensations from pushing you. As if a strange and evil magic pulled you like a taut rope. The staff shone with its own light, a mixture of yellows and oranges and in the center a white light like that of a lighthouse. Your eyes widened and you couldn't help but let your fingers barely caress the surface of the polished orb. When you did, an expansive slingshot like a nuclear explosion ran through your entire body with a painful electric shock and expanded outward and surrounded the entire circus. You almost fainted but managed to stay upright by holding on to the table. Your mind that was previously agonizing in a confusing and blinding fog was now completely clear like a sun peeking its rays through the clouds after a storm. Of course, he had bewitched you, that was the explanation for everything, because you felt so comfortable and you had never complained. You left his dressing room in a hurry and scared, the people also seemed to have woken up from the cruel spell they were under, as if they had woken up from a cloud of intoxicated drowsiness.

People started running away in terror and you did the same. You ran with all your strength towards the outskirts of the carnival of doom. It was night outside and a light drizzle was beginning to wet your nightgown and robe. You were barefoot so your feet were slipping on the stones and filled with mud which made it difficult to escape. The forest was thick and the trees looked like black, skeletal ghosts wanting to scratch you with their branches. Suddenly you thought you heard a deep, shrill voice among the thickets of the trees, but it was so dark that you couldn't see anything. Your heart hammered in your chest as you continued running but the voice continued to echo everywhere, even in your head.

"Why do you run away from me?!". The voice growled

You turned your head in all directions trying to see who was speaking but you already knew whose voice it was. Mr. Tophat appeared and disappeared like a ghost in the forest, stalking you like a wolf. You turned around desperately until you were dizzy trying to guess where he would appear this time, and as if he had emerged from the center of the earth, the ringleader stood right in front of you at a considered distance.

"I thought you would stay with me..." . He threatening little warning lowering the chin

He was getting closer to you and you backed away terrified, in many years of living with him he had never acted so creepy with you, almost as if you were a poor devil to be martyred and stunned.

"What's wrong my sweet Y/n? Are you afraid of me?"

His magpie laughter echoed throughout the forest like a pitiful echo.

"I can smell fear, remember?"

He got even closer and you went back as far as you could until you fell and continued crawling with your hands resting on the ground. The humidity of the mud rose to your nose, the dirt dirty your clothes and stuck to your nails, and the soft but incessant drizzle soaked your hair and face. You looked terrible and your eyebrows curved in an upward arc of fear and anguish. Seeing you like this, something in Marcus seemed to awaken because his gloomy and intimidating face changed to an expression of fear and concern for you. Hesitantly he approached with slower and more uncertain steps as if he were afraid of scaring away a badly injured rabbit. He approached you cautiously and you instinctively moved further away. Now he seemed hurt by this gesture and his face expressed more sadness, a hand gently approached your bare foot and placed itself on your ankle, you waited for a firm grip or for his fingers to dig into your flesh but nothing of the sort happened. Marcus's hand almost seemed to float on your skin as he didn't take his eyes off of you, and you could see that they were wet. You didn't understand what was happening to him and it was making you nervous, you looked at each other in silence trying to discover each other's thoughts. When you couldn't take more than one slap, you took his fingers off your ankle and ran in another direction, away from him. Very far

"No wait Y/n please…!"

Marcus stood up from the ground and watched you leave with a broken heart. He extended his arms in a useless attempt to catch you but you were already far away, as if that simple action of his fingers touching the air had been enough for you to come back. his side floating like a butterfly. His appearance as a child abandoned by his mother changed drastically and his easy features became hard. He clenched his jaw and clenched his fists, roughly removing his hat and throwing it to the floor. In a tantrum he screamed at the top of his lungs.

“Y/N I TOLD YOU TO COME BACK!!!”. He howled

His war cry echoed throughout the forest and scared away some crows that flew out of the branches of the bare and dry trees. You turned your head back to see if he was chasing you but he had disappeared. Through the forest the only thing that remained echoing were your footsteps, but in your mind his words continued to flutter like flies.

“Y/N I TOLD YOU TO COME BACK!!!” “Y/N I TOLD YOU TO COME BACK!!!” “Y/N I TOLD YOU TO COME-!"

The months passed and you returned to your sweet home. It took you a while to recover from the shock you had experienced and understand and process what had really happened. Mr. Tophat's manipulations, lies and false promises had affected you more than you wanted to admit. And it could be said that you were not handling the improvement process very well, since by not dancing in the circuses you had to go back to dancing in the streets and honestly it was not as fun as doing it at the carnival. People hardly looked at you and not everyone left a tip. And your home no longer felt the same as before, even though it was your real home you felt that something was missing, an emptiness oppressed your chest and you didn't know why. One day you picked up the newspaper that was always left at your door and when you read it you almost spit out the coffee you had put in your mouth. The newspaper mentioned a circus called "Carnival of Doom" and showed a photo of its ringleader. Would that man even chase you in the photos? The article told how that strange individual had dared to kidnap children and people by bewitching them and taking them to his circus, but what surprised you the most was that when they were freed the people had erased from their minds all memories of the Carnival of Doom and Mr. Tophat. You folded the diary and left it on the table reflecting. Why were you the only one who remembered everything? It didn't seem to be something Tophat planned. Did that make you someone supernatural too? You shook your head overwhelmed. Suddenly you started thinking about all the things you had experienced with him, the good and the bad. And you realized that that man could not be entirely evil, in life there are not only blacks or whites. No person is completely good and no person is completely bad.

You clung to the hope that the man who begged you to stay with him, who looked at you scared and worried as he caressed your ankle couldn't be the same one who screamed and grumbled when something didn't go according to his plan. The man who feared for his own life was Marcus, you had fallen in love with him, not Mr. Tophat. With all those arguments you decided to put on a coat and face your fears, you would go to where it all started and you would put an end to that torment. This time the sky was clear but there were no moon or stars. You went outside with a flashlight and headed to the place of your memories. The circus now looked more gloomy and depressing than before. The paint looked old and corroded and the tip of the tent was deflated and hanging limply to one side. When you were under the spell you had never realized how horrible that place was, everything seemed abandoned and dark. When you entered the circus tent you saw that it was all dark, with your flashlight you swept the place but suddenly the light began to flicker and went off. Great, you thought.

A laugh that was first soft and then louder alerted all your senses. A light turned on and the ringleader appeared standing to your right with his staff in his hand. Everything was dark so the light that illuminated him seemed even more powerful.

"So we meet again…What do you want from me?"

You were going to answer but the light went out and everything returned to darkness, uselessly searching for his image in the shadows. Another ceiling light turned on this time to your left and a little further away near the stands Tophat appeared again.

"Why don't you run from me uh?"

The man's smile was psychotic and hypnotizing and before you could say a word again the electricity went off again and his laughter echoed throughout the tent. His macabre games were making you nervous, he knew how to create the perfect environment to generate suspense and fear, his favorite emotions. Once again he appeared in front of you sitting with one leg crossed in front of the other and one hand under his chin.

"Why aren't you scared of me?... Or are you?"

"Stop it!". You yelled

His laughter sounded louder and closer as the lights went out again. It seemed like thousands of laughs and not just one. You covered your ears, wanting to wake up from that nightmare but unfortunately, it was real and you were wide awake. Again his voice was heard in the darkness and you got goosebumps when you felt it right behind you.

"But more importantly, what do you know?"

A light turned on behind you and when you turned around you saw his smiling face right above yours. He looked at you as if you were his favorite prey about to be devoured. You stifled a scream of terror. His features were more accentuated and seemed more threatening because the light did not shine fully on him and his hat cast macabre shadows on his skin. His eyes looked sickly and abnormally greener than usual. Being tall, he could lean over you as much as he wanted and that intimidated you. You swallowed and said with a trembling voice.

"I know everything and I remember everything too"

This seemed to disconcert him a little but he kept his expression firm and with a sudden movement he grabbed your wrists and tightened his grip until it made you hurt and scream. With a strong pull he brought you closer to his chest. His eyes never stopped seeing yours

"Oh really? And what will you do about it mon amour?". He said in perfect French accent

You shook and struggled but you couldn't escape him, he had a very good grip on you. You sighed tiredly and rested your head on his chest. He was surprised by this gesture but since he thought it was some kind of deception and trap, he did not loosen his fingers on your wrists. Just talk to yourself from the heart

"Marcus listen to me, I know you're there. Deep down behind all this horrible facade I know that a good man is hiding, the man I fell in love with. Please Marcus, fight, I want you to come out."

Mr. Tophat's eyes widened and he seemed to turn pale. You felt like his grip had loosened a little but not enough to let you go. You looked into his eyes and realized that they were shiny again.

"You do not know what you say…"

"Yes I know. I know you did all this to fulfill your dreams but you messed with the wrong people and now you are paying the price. Don't let others be part of this madness"

The man frowned and his lips began to tremble, it seemed that inside him a fierce battle was being waged over who would take control, Marcus or his alter ego. A light of hope seemed to pass through your eyes as his expressions seemed to soften and he looked at you with another look, one that asked for help and compassion, a look that he wanted to believe you. But that quickly changed when he tightened his grip again and pulled your wrists closer to his chest, also bringing your face just five centimeters from yours.

"And why do you care for me?". His eyes were cold and hard

"Because I know you're suffering and I don't like seeing you like this, you don't deserve anything you're suffering. I know your intentions were good. Please, Marcus, I love you and I want you to be okay. I want this all to end."

Something in him seemed to break because he let go of your wrists and his face expressed fear and concern, his eyebrows curled into a depressed frown and he looked at you as if it were the first time he had seen you. His lips trembled as tears fell from his eyes. His corners turned slightly downward in a pout. That was the real Marcus

"Y/n…I…I'm so sorry.."

With a sob he embraced you, wrapping his arms around your neck and pressed you against him in search of affection and containment. You wrapped your arms under his armpits and caressed his back, whispering tender and comforting words, managing to calm and comfort him.

"I don't know what to do now, without the cane I'm nothing" . His voice was muffled in the crook of your neck

"That's not true, together we can create something new and better. Besides, now I'm by your side, I promise to stay and never leave again."

He pulled away from you and looked at you hopefully. You smiled and then directed his gaze to the cane that was still in his hand. You extended your palm ordering him to give you the object. He seemed to hesitate, avoiding eye contact. A few seconds passed that seemed like forever until he finally handed you his cane with his hand trembling. You took it and after looking at it for a moment you smashed it against the ground, breaking it into pieces, startling Mrcus. At that moment the whole place seemed to calm down and you felt that you could breathe a new atmosphere, one calm and free of danger. You looked at your loved one again and now he smiled at you with relief and all traces of demonic evil dissolved in his gaze. He was a free man

"Thank you, thank you for everything". He said kissing your knuckles and shedding tears of happiness.

"You don't have to thank anything, it was the least I could do for you, and for everyone"

You wiped away his tears with love and tenderly kissed his lips. He delicately surrounds your waist. When you broke the kiss he caressed your cheekbone with his thumb.

"As you say, the show must go on. But this time let's start a better one"

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Oh will I ever write about characters I know and have seen their series/movie? Haha no