#jk theres literally 0% fearplay in this its all internalized because Blaire is a freak

[lostinthewalls]

TLT Chapter 4

Escapades

TW for this chapter: Swearing, intense moment and slight panic attack??

Story under the cut!!

Blaire wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but he knew one thing. No matter how nice the human seemed, he had to get out of here. Evan was acting too nice to be normal, and too awkward to be as cruel as Blaire originally thought. It was...confusing, to say the least. And it scared Blaire more than he wanted to admit.

So, he had no choice but to leave. Now that his leg was stinted shockingly well, he could at the very least walk around, and, if he pushed himself hard enough, jump from surface to surface as well. All he had to do is sit and act nice until Evan settled in for the night.

Tricking humans were easy. It always was, Blaire had done it multiple times with just simple actions or visual tricks. Surely, he could do it with his words now, right? A part of him was comically glad he could fool this idiot so easily, but another, louder part of him tried to coax him out of it, saying it was too cruel.

Well, he wouldn’t listen. Borrowers valued survival, and they did what they had to do to survive. No matter what. Whether it meant sacrifice, murder, or—in his case—a simple trick.

His eyes drifted from Evan’s hand back up to his face again as he scooted forwards, trying to keep his demeanor from cracking.

“I guess I’ll have to stay with you for a while, then?” His tone was a bit grudging, but he held it well, keeping it held down under a smooth, slightly smug bravado.

Evan was snapped from his stupor for the umpteenth time—it was easy to startle this guy, Jesus—and nodded slowly, a tentative smile poking through his soft, chronically anxious features.

“Yeah- you probably can’t go back with a leg like that...I could set something up for you for tonight- if you want, of course. The dresser’s pretty old and probably has splinters in it...”

Evan’s words tumbled out of his mouth as he struggled to save face, Blaire watching him with an excited, calculated gaze. This idiot thought he couldn’t do jack shit with a broken ankle. He was wrong. Blaire would prove him wrong, and all the others.

Borrowers were naturally conniving beings, so the magical flattery was quite literally coursing through his veins. He just shrugged, responding to Evan’s rambles in a smooth voice.

“Ah- your right. Although, I don’t exactly mind sleeping here. It’s nice- in a way. Away from you.” Reverse psychology. It was a perfect ploy.

Evan took it hook, line, and sinker. It was as easy as a cat snagging a goldfish from its little circular tank. Evan’s blue eyes bored into the borrower teen for a while before he made up his mind, pushing off the dresser, starting to fish through seasonal blankets which he stored under his bed.

“No- no. I should probably give you something nicer. Wouldn’t want you hurting yourself again...” Evan might as well have been talking to the wall, because Blaire was on a whole other plane.

The borrower had managed to stand, his injured ankle causing his whole leg to shake as he did, and he crossed his arms over his chest, mapping out any escape areas and hiding places. Callen had always told him to stay near the ground if he was ever caught, and thankfully, Evan was taking him right where he needed to go.

The corners of the room were always an ideal spot for laying low. Under the bed was nice, too, but Evan would check there almost instantly, so that was out of the question. Blaire could hide under the dresser, but considering the chance of spiders down there, he didn’t want to risk it.

All he had left was to stick close to the wall and fucking pray. But it would work well enough...hopefully. If his blindingly white hair didn’t blow his plans.

He had decided it, and just in time, too. Evan rose from his position on the ground, walking back to the dresser, motioning his arms in a ‘well?’ motion towards the makeshift nest near the corner.

Blaire’s eyes widened slightly, but he kept his expression as calm as possible. The bed looked nice but...it was obvious Evan was only trying to flatter him. Either that or make a good first impression, which, wasn’t likely at all.

“I think that’ll work for tonight.” Blaire nodded firmly to express his point further, limping to the edge of the dresser and peering down. Evan’s hand reached up to stabilize him, and he quickly shoved the accusatory finger away, almost too quickly.

Evan, thankfully, didn’t bother to ask about it, instead quickly changing the subject, “Do you- uhm- I think you’d need help down there? With your ankle and all...”

Blaire internally hesitated for a moment, fighting between the fear of humans and his fear of his loss of dignity before forcing himself to nod again, although the movement was drastically quicker this time.

How he wasn’t being drilled with questions yet, Blaire didn’t know. Evan wiped his sweat-covered hands on his shirt for an agonizing second before laying his hand flat on the top of the dresser.

Blaire tapped his finger, almost testing the waters for a moment before grasping the tip of his ring finger, using it to hoist himself up and over, landing in a crouch in the center of Evan’s palm.

He cringed at the contact. Evan’s hand was like any other humans, rough and unforgiving, the folds and creases in his palm making balancing a feat in itself. But considering how sweaty Evan was as well, Blaire might as well had been standing on a wet blanket.

Evan brought his other hand to grip his own wrist, stepping away from the dresser and turning on his heel a bit too quickly. Blaire choked down the bile that rose in his throat, whipping his head around to glare at the human.

“Er- oh- sorry. I- never really did this before.” Evan stuttered quietly, biting his bottom lip before dropping into a crouch, letting Blaire slide off his palm and onto the nest of blankets.

Blaire was eager to jump off, landing in the significantly easier terrain, although the impact was far from graceful. He stumbled forward, flopping onto his knees, biting back a scream as his ankle sent a jolt of pain through his whole leg. He stood, and flopped backwards onto his bottom, extending his legs straight, leaning back and using his arms to prop himself up.

“Thanks...” He didn’t attempt to keep his voice in check as Evan simply nodded, turning off the overhead light and flicking on his LED lights instead, casting the room in an eerie blue glow.

“I’m going to get ready for bed- I'll uhh- be right back...” Evan raced out the door before Blaire could respond. Although, he didn’t exactly want too. This was his chance to get out.

The corner was right there. Blaire stood, sliding down the nest and landing on the carpeted floor, ducking low. There was a crack in the wall on the other side of the room...if he could just get to it...

He steeled himself before squeezing himself through the painfully small gap between the wall and the pile of blankets, racing along the wall as fast as he could, running his fingers along the rough surface as he did.

Despite it all, he fell to his knees a few times. Each time, he had to take a breather before he got up and started hobbling again. He was thankful Evan was taking forever to get back in here for once.

He didn’t know how far he was to the crack in the wall, but he fell to his knees once again, biting back a frustrated sob as his eyes stung with tears. He couldn’t handle this anymore...

His tear ducts threatened to burst when he heard the signature rushing footsteps of Evan heading towards the room. He tore at the fibers of the carpet in frustration, his breath quickening, chest tightening as he stared towards the door.

Not now...this was the worst time...he couldn’t get caught at a time like this...

But...his luck had finally run out. And he was too late as Evan shoved his way back into the room.

End Notes

Being so real with you guys, this was so tough to write considering Blaire is CERTAINLY Not Your Average Borrower. Despite it all, his character is certainly getting some development! Despite his rough exterior, he is just a scared little guy...poor him....

Chapter 5 soon!! Stay tuned everyone! It's about to get intense hm....