#do I tag kneed right in the family jewels or is that too much

[girlsdogmotif]

Bullseye

Whumpee opens the door to the bleak stairwell mentally preparing herself to climb the 14 floors, since she couldn’t get in elevators anymore without having a panic attack as soon as the doors closed. She gets about halfway to her destination before she hears a door from a few floors below her creak open. 

That’s…odd. People rarely take the stairs other than her, but she hoped someone was just using a bathroom on a different floor or something. She continued on her march up the endless spiral concrete stairs.

When she heard the footsteps of the other person climbing the stairs, she froze for barely a moment, her heart beating loud in her ears. Sure enough the footsteps stopped for a moment. 

Shit. She thought to herself and tried to calm down and pick up her leisurely pace without making it seem like she was trying to get away.

Maybe it’s just some rando and I’m just paranoid. She unconvincingly told herself as she tried not to breathe too loudly once she got to the 10th floor. 

Okay, okay. Only 4 more floors, you can do this. She repeated the mantra to herself in her head but it quickly got overrun with her panicked thoughts. Pausing for a second to try to catch her breath, she tightened the straps of her backpack that must have been full of bricks with how much it was weighing her down.

Before she started to climb, she hesitantly peaked her head over the railing to see if the person was still there and to reassure herself that she was just being paranoid and it wasn’t who she thought it was.

But sure enough, leaning casually against the railing two floors down looking up at her with an amused smirk on his face, there he was. He raised his hand in a casual wave. She quickly pulled her head back like he didn’t already see her, and almost fell on her butt but recovered by pulling herself up by the railing and practically flinging herself up the stairs. 

C’mon c’mon c’mon! Shit! Shit! Shit! Were her only thoughts as she tried to get to the 14th floor. Not that she had a plan really, she wouldn’t be safe there necessarily, but it felt better to have a goal, and anything was better than staying in this godforsaken stairwell.

Cutting through her heavy breaths and heart beating in her ears she heard his annoying sing-song voice echo up to her.

“Whuuuummmpppeeeeee–” Jesus like a fucking movie villian this guy. If she had the time or energy to spare she’d roll her eyes.

Fed up already with his mocking actions, she just looked over the railing, unable to see him under the stairs and yelled an echoing “FUCK YOU” with as much malice as she could muster. Before it even finished echoing she was sprinting up the last two flights taking the stairs 2 at a time. 

As she got to the 13th floor, she was so close! She heard the footsteps that had been floors below her a second ago, now right behind her. Stupidly, she dared to look back. 

Cursing his abnormally long legs that allowed him to take the stairs 3 at time, she wanted to call him a freakish monster but mentally filed that away for later because now didn’t seem like the right time. Instead she just yelled “SHIT!” mostly to herself, as she tried to make the last flight.

Right as she reached the landing between the 13th and 14th floor she was abruptly slammed from behind straight into the wall. Barely able to twist her body in time so she didn’t go headfirst and break her neck, she bounced off the wall with an oomph and collapsed to her hands and knees, breathing hard. 

With one final look up to the door with a 14 above it she sighed, she was so close. Her thigh muscles that were finally not holding up her weight started to shake from the exertion, soreness kicking in. Which, of course, made it even more difficult for her to remain in a somewhat upright position when she was kicked harshly in the abdomen by a familiar hiking boot.

Gasping as her body that was already desperate for air got it aggressively knocked out of her, she collapsed onto the dusty floor and tried to curl into herself. She was given a merciful moment to catch her breath before with a yelp she was suddenly yanked upwards by her backpack. 

Now almost dangling in the air by the straps of her backpack, she grunted and struggled to kick her leg, out of instinct and to get balanced, but her legs were made of gelatin. She heard her attacker chuckle lightly at her flailing. The hold on her backpack released and she was dropped back onto her feet, to which she immediately began to crumble back to the ground.

Whumper sighed deeply above her and reluctantly caught her with a practiced arm around the waist. Most likely unintentionally his arm also lifted her backpack up a few inches which pleasantly lifted the weight off her back.

“This whole thing feels completely avoidable, you know.” He said, sounding mildly exasperated but she knew that he most certainly enjoyed “this whole thing”, probably too much in fact. Before she could even scoff out a reply, he effortlessly swung her around, before pushing her back against the wall for support. She quickly got her bearings and was finally able to properly glare at him now that they were face to face, opening her mouth to shoot back before he raised his hand and interrupted her.

“And I think the ‘fuck you’ was also completely unnecessary and a bit too aggressive for my liking.” He put a hand over his heart to represent his fake hurt. Whumpee half expected him to wipe a fake tear away with this shitty performance he was giving. 

“And…” His amused smirk returned, clearly enjoying his position of control. “I think I deserve an apology.” Whumpee just continued to shoot him a bored glare. Inside however, she was fuming at him thinking he had the right to demand anything of her.

“My liking.” Pfft what an asshole. An apology? Is he fucking serious? You just threw me into a wall!. But before she could let out any of those thoughts, she schooled her expression to be one of fake reflectiveness and regret, noting that he had taken a step and a half back from her and she had a bit more space.

“Well,” Whumpee started, pushing off the wall the tiniest bit. Whumper’s cold eyes lit up for a second with a hint of excitement and disbelief. For just that millisecond moment Whumpee revelled in his stupid expression.

“F-” She barely got the first syllable out before she was slammed back into the corner by a crushing hand on her throat.

“Yeah, I thought that was too good to be true.” Whumper said with unsurprised disappointment.

“You didn’t even hear what I was gonna sa-” Whumpee tried to cough out a smart-ass comment before she was unconscious just to piss him off further. She really doesn’t have enough self-preservation huh.

Whumper's expression darkened and his other hand went to her throat and she whimpered as he slowly slid her up the wall till her feet were no longer touching the ground, and they were almost at eye level. Now being completely devoid of oxygen she desperately tried to kick at his legs but he quickly restricted her movement by pressing one of his own legs against hers. They made eye contact and Whumper soaked in the terrified look on Whumpee’s red face, the fear in her teary eyes as she tried hopelessly to get a breath in. He leaned closer and she tried to flinch away.

“One day, you won’t have to be near death for me to see that fear in your eyes.”

But what Whumper had failed to notice was that by pinning down her kicking legs he had made a very specific and painful area of his very vulnerable. Certain that her face was turning purple and she had received brain damage from her lack of oxygen, Whumpee used the last of her strength and brought her knee up with as much force as she could. 

Bullseye.