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thestoriesfold · 1 year ago

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Tonight's Golden Hour: Part One

Summary: In an attempt to get closer to your coworker, you read his book recommendations. A late night welcomes a visitor in your dreams, and one interesting morning.

Pairings: Marc Spector x gn!reader, Steven Grant x gn!reader, Jake Lockely x gn!reader, Y/N is used sparingly.

Work Count: 3.6k

WARNINGS: Past trauma is brought up, religious trauma briefly mentioned, use of witchcraft, cussing, brief past abuse, reader has a moment of paranoia and anxiety.

Notes: I’m not going to lie to you, this entire chapter was written on the computer at Walgreens. It was dead, and the boss man didn’t care. So tada! Lemme know if you wanna be part of the series taglist in the comments!

Introduction 🌙 Masterlist

Steven slouched in his seat at the counter, mumbling to himself about that damn bird. It was nothing new for Marc or Jake to keep the body overnight, but it still sucked the morning after. He rubbed his face, struggling to fight the sleep that was heavy on his eyes. He sighed looking up as Janet walked out from the office, carrying a book with her as she hobbled. You had taken to the second floor, sorting books into the correct order, putting others back. The task was an easy one, the idea of organizing something so simple came easy. It gave your mind the distraction it so desperately craved, humming quietly as you practically scaled the shelf. Your eyes fell on an old Greek folktale, grinning to yourself as your fingertips traced down its spine.

The book opened in your hands, finding itself on one of the middle most pages. The words came to focus on the tale of Persephone and how she had been taken to the underworld. How Demeter entrusted the help of Hecate, the goddess of magic, of the moon. She guided those at cross-roads with her three heads. To most of the people in your life, the fact that she was so heavily associated with witchcraft made her a target of belittlement. Especially from the clan house, Thirios. For a name so close to the word monster, they claimed to walk in the light. You never truly understood why they were like it, never truly followed their ideals. Questioning was wrong, it was always wrong. The beauty of free thought helped you and your family escape at one point, but it never stuck. Not with your family. Comfort was in what they knew, what they grew up by. And yet, here you stood. The book was in your hands as you read over the story, a small grin on the corners of your lips as amusement ran through you. You were now stuck in London, living a life that was not attached to your old one, to who you were.

“Excuse me?” You dropped the book, body reacting from being startled. Eyes went wide and breathing came to a sudden stop. A reaction that came naturally from years of the clan’s work. “Sorry to startle you, love” Steven’s curls came into focus as he patted your arm gently. His touch was different, gentle. It was unbelievably warm if you thought hard enough. It brought you back to reality just enough to pay attention. “Just wanted to let you know, Janet got us some lunch. Come on down whenever you’d like” he smiled at you. He knew something was off by the look in your eyes. How when you offered a small grin back, how it was like the ones you gave to tiring customers. Brown eyes glanced over you once, he wasn’t sure if he could call it concern, but he didn’t like how you seemed so far away.

You both reached for the book simultaneously. The two of you glanced at each other as your fingers touched, the graze of his warm fingertips against your cold. His brown eyes read yours, offering a quick smile as you took the book into your hand and stood. “Don’t worry about it, Steven. I was just enjoying a good story” you wiggled the book in your hand as Steven stood with you.

His hands seemed to find themselves clasped together, eyes moving to focus on the book in your hands “You like Greek mythology, eh? What story are you on?” He shifted to take a look at the contents, looking down at the page you’d been reading. “Hecate” he paused, hand coming to run his chin in thought. He’d been a mythology geek since the dawn of his existence, but Hecate was never mainstream enough for him to really look into “Not overly familiar. I’ve always been an Egyptian man myself.”

“I grew up in Greece, actually. This was a bedtime story for me, basically” you looked at Steven, his eyes still reading over the text. You took notice how his mouth moved slightly with each word he past over, like he was giving all of his effort to soak it in “I’ve always wanted to know about Egyptian mythology and folklore. Up until recently, I haven’t had the time to try. Any recommendations on where to start?” At that point, Steven was looking at you with the biggest grin on his face. Someone taking interest in his hyperfixation? His thing? If you weren’t careful, he’d fall in love. He already thought you were just beautiful.

He blinked, shaking his head as he realized he had been staring, snapping out of his trance quickly “You want my recommendation?” he sounded shocked, pointing to himself. Honestly, he was. He was so accustomed to being brushed off, past experiences had him lonely and left him feeling rejected, even with his interests “Follow me then.”

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

That was how you got stuck reading one book after another once you got home. It had been late in the night, you could feel your body begging for sleep, your eyes burning with the need to close as you finished the third book of the evening. Your glasses rested at the tip of your nose as you slowly shut the book. A groan fell past your lips as you stretched your limbs out, climbing out of the lounge chair that you had claimed for tonight’s reading session. Your eyes scanned the space of the front parlor, remembering the noises you had heard every night for a week now. You practically saddled around opening a couple windows after collecting your barings. The cool night air seeped into the house, your legs carrying you to a small standing cabinet that looked like it hadn’t been touched in years. ‘She hasn’t touched this since Pedro left’ you thought to yourself. Pedro was your cousin, one who has followed her interest into the old ways. But like everyone else, he left for clan Thirios, choosing a false lighthood. With your mind set, you opened the cabinet. In it was old supplies, herbs, incense, mortar and pestle. Your grandmother was always adamant on following your culture’s traditions. Well, your true culture, not the one developed for you by the clan. She wanted to enforce self-enlightenment and use of energy for good things, to aid yourself and others. Never to harm oneself for indulging for simplicities. Never to harm other’s in belief of cleansing their glutton. Your fingers ran along one of the carved and anointed candles, feeling the familiar inscription that decorated its white wax. You’d never committed to the same level as your grandmother. You’d only ever lit incense for a temporary sense of closure, to cleanse. That’s what you had opened the cabinet for, to pluck one stick from her multitude of boxes.

Frankincense would do the trick. You flicked the lighter, letting the incense burn for a few short moments before blowing out the flame. As the smoke slowly rose off of the stick, you slowly swirled it around you. You hoped it would bring a good cleansing to the energy that had seemed to follow you. Your sock covered feet slowly moved around the house, letting the smell of Frankincense take over. The smoke was supposed to do the job of ridding any negative energy from the house. It made you feel slightly more at ease, letting the incense burn down in its holder shortly after a lap. You could feel your eyes droop, barely able to focus on the clock that ticked right in front of you. You forced yourself to retreat, going up to your room to rest for the night.

Your back hit the bed immediately following your shortened routine, face barely rinsed, teeth partially brushed, clothes only covering the private bits. You were too excited to curl under the blanket, to let the melatonin you'd taken earlier do its job. A final yawn left your lips before you let yourself snooze, the alarm on your phone was set, it was going to be a full nights’ sleep for you.

It didn’t take long for soft snoring to sound in the room, your body twitching in its exhausted state as you slept. You crashed hard that night, the door slowly creaking open didn’t stir you. Your head remained glued to the pillow, eyes closed. Your brain was too encased in its nightly show of dreams.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You stood in a meadow, flowers of all colors seemed to thrive all around you. The glow of the moon seemed to cast a blue tint to everything, adding a calming effect to the scene. The sounds of nature took over your ears, crickets, a babbling brook nearby. You continued to take in the scenery, eyes slowly focusing on what seemed to be a large black dog in the distance. You stood still then, unsure if the dog was friendly. Curiosity killed the cat, and this dog was huge. There was no taking chances, not even in your dreams. You’d learned enough from being brave.

You turned to the other direction, choosing to put some distance between the two of you. Perhaps, you could both have your own sense of peace in this little dream you cooked up. Your head slowly moved to face forward, taking a second to register that there was now yet another black dog standing right in front of you. It looked up at you silently, its eyes boring into your soul. Your breath caught in your throat as two more appeared from each side of your body, rounding in a circle to stand next to the one in dead center. You watched as all three fused, their bodies merging into three heads and one large body. They stood almost as tall as you now, three sets of eyes staring at you almost expectantly. All you could do was stare, mouth fallen agape as they peered at you. A huff left the middle head’s snout, sitting back on its hind legs.

“Do not fear me, child” A woman's voice echoed in your skull, causing you to jerk your head in every direction. Where the fuck is that coming from? Fear wasn’t present in your thoughts, no. Something about this entire thing felt oddly normal for you. You were confused, but not scared. You were eerily calm about hearing a voice in your head. The dog huffed in front of you once more, all three heads looking at you with golden orbs. Their intensity caused you to gulp, your head tilting as the voice sounded once more. Rich, seemingly powerful, and dreamlike “You are safe here, my child. I wish to merely visit, to warn and protect.”

This only confused you more, making you step away from the creature slightly. It’s stare was intense enough from a distance, you didn’t need to be closer “Protect me? Protect me from what? Who are you?” You hadn’t yelled, but your voice edged on the side of suspicion. As it should, this was a crazy dream. Despite the reasonable part of your brain telling you to be afraid, you didn’t stray far. The distance between you and the dog was only a few feet more than what it previously was. Something about the energy radiating off of it drew you in, enticed you.

“They know what you are, child. They know more about you than you do yourself. You must find it, my child” the woman’s voice said nothing else, the dog only stood and began to walk away. You tried to walk towards it, but your feet were stuck in place. A distorted jingle started to play out as the scene changed.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You groaned as you stretched, the alarm on your phone was becoming an annoyance the more you heard it each morning. The blankets went with you as you rolled off the bed to approach your phone on the dresser, forcing yourself to stand before turning off the alarm. You rubbed your eyes tiredly as the small jingle came to a stop. There was a chime of your ringtone, a rare thing to ever really happen, as you changed into clothes more suitable for work.

You hopped over back to the dresser, your legs threatening to trip themselves before you smack your weight into the wood. The dark pants were pulled to your hips and zipped quickly before you swiped to unlock the phone. You adjusted the small amount of accessories you’d put on, looking down at the notification banner. It was from an unknown number ‘we miss you’ it read. You could feel your heartbeat quicken, a thousand questions running through your mind all at once. Your fingers twitched, tempted to respond, but you knew better. They wanted to see if you would, you knew that. But it didn’t make it any less terrifying. Was it actually someone you came to love? Was it mom? Pedro? Cassias? Vanessa? You backed out of the conversation, tucking your phone in your back pocket with a shaky hand. You looked into the mirror, taking in the fear that rested on your face. A forced breath came from you, you studied yourself in the mirror.

“You are safe. They cannot get you here” Your voice was shaky, unconvincing, but you had to try “You escaped. You escaped.”

The words would be repeated both outloud and mentally as you took your usual route to work, eyes scanning every detail in case someone was out to get you. Every movement you made was quick, swift, like you want to make yourself as sparse as possible. Your mantra didn’t help with the memories that flooded your imagination. It didn’t help as you remember Georigios’ hands on your throat, holding you down as a way of ‘cleansing the darkness’ that had found its way into your gaze. How he spoke with such hatred, how he seemed to smile while doing it. How his grip tightened, a sadistic glint in his eyes.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“You have a devil inside you, fighting against your superiors, you little bitch” his body would close in on yours, hand gripping your neck as he put his knee in between your legs “The devil inside you needs to be removed, to be broken so it won’t return” his eyes moved over your body slowly, mouth quirking as you made a small choked noise “I think I’ll help with that..”

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“Oof!” your body collided with another, both parties seeming to struggle to stay up. That brought you back into reality, feeling a warm pair of hands encase your upper arms. Too warm, he’s found you, he’s going to do it again. Leave, leave, RUN “You alright there, love?” It was Steven’s voice, it made you focus on how his brown eyes looked over your face. The way his emotions showed hard on his face, the way his worry seemed to shine through puppy dog eyes. It grounded you. He only stepped back once you had gained your footing, smoothing your sleeves before offering you his signature grin “How is the book reading going?”

It was like the dark cloud over your head was lifted, a smile of your own came to your face. So this is what relief feels like. It was small, but it was real. His chocolate eyes bore into yours, like a warm blanket wrapped around you despite the breeze having other plans. “Good, very good” you spoke quickly as both of you started to walk into the library. “I believe I’m starting to have a favorite among the Egyptian gods, actually” you stated as you both moved to place your coats on the rack.

“Oh? Do tell” he turned to you once his jacket was properly placed on the hook. You couldn’t help but grin at how excited he seemed. He was giving you a breath of fresh air.

You looked up at him, arms crossing as you raised your eyebrow “Ah, not that easy. You have to guess” a little smirk covered your features. He gave you the ‘oh come on’ look, mimicking your crossed arms. Just like that, you switched. He noticed how you seemed like nothing was wrong. Part of you did too, thinking it was a way to ignore the anxiety that crept at your throat.

“But there’s so many, we’ll be on lunch before I can list them all” he couldn’t help but whine, feeling both Marc and Jake cringe in the back of the headspace. He didn’t care however, this was his conversation, and you were his coworker. Hopefully, you’d call yourself his friend, he’d certainly like to “At least give me a hint” he demanded.

“You want a hint? Well, Mr. Egyptian expert” you let out a laugh, shaking your head at his antics “Fine. How about I give you one at lunch?” You and him had created a small habit of at least ordering from the same place. One of you usually did rock-paper-scissors to see who would go and retrieve it, the other’s cash in hand. However, you naturally proposed the idea of getting it together, the company would ease your anxiety riddled mind. You didn’t mind how Steven tended to do most of the talking when you two worked alongside each other, in fact it was easy for you. You just listened, put your thoughts forward when needed. Ask questions when you felt the need. His voice would soothe you with how passionate he got sometimes.

He straightened at that, as if every muscle went tight in his body. His eyes were staring at you, slightly widened. That sounds like a date. Something he hadn’t been able to even consider in so long. The only thing that pulled him back from the surprise was Marc’s voice telling him he was taking too long “Yes, of course! Lunch, yes. I would love to discuss it with you over lunch” he answered rather quickly out loud. Blew it.

Normally, you would’ve tripped over your words. Overthinking if he just saw that as a potential date, but you could only let out a small chuckle as he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. So what if it was? You were two grown adults “Get to work, Grant. I’ll talk to you at lunch.”

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Janet could tell something was up. She saw it in the way you and Steven would fidget when speaking to each other. She saw in how the two of you seemed to be ten years younger as you both tended to mess with each other whilst working on returns. She couldn’t help but hum in amusement as she watched the two of you not so subtly race for the counter in order to check someone out, eyes catching on how Steven’s smile seemed so bright. She’d taken notice how you seemed to relax and come out of your shell over the last two weeks of working here.

You stifled a giggle as you peered around the counter, Steven on your heels before you hopped in the chair. You wheeled it to the front side, smiling at the stranger. This would be the literal last thing you did before you took your scheduled lunch break. The transaction was quick, and you looked over at Steven as the stranger walked away, offering him a friendly flip of the bird before you stood. He shook his head with a laugh, following you once more as you both went to the coat rack.

“You are something else” he said quietly, both shrugging on your coats. His hair moved down onto his forehead as it was tilted downwards. He waited for you to put yours on before stepping forward to open the door “For you, your greatness.”

You let out a small chuckle as he did a little bow, curtsying like a the dork you were in response “What a gentlemen. Over men should take notes” you stated, slipping through the door with your coworker on your heels.

The cold rush of air hit you like a brick to the face, Steven seeming to fair it a bit better. He still rubbed his hands together before shoving them into their respectful pockets “So” he paused, watching as his breath blew in front of him in the cold air “Where to?” he glanced down at you, watching as you all but shivered from the cold.

“Somewhere warm, with food” you said quietly, your hands bunched into your coat pockets. Your breath was also in the air, and it reminded you of why you hated the cold.

“I think I have an idea. Come on, love” he said gently, guiding you with a warm arm around your shoulder. It was a short walk, only about eight minutes in total. In the cold, it felt like twenty. By the time you’d reached the doors to the restaurant, you were shivering. Steven didn’t seem much better, cheeks and nose flushed from the cold weather (and holding you, but he’d never admit to it).

You both politely smiled at the waitress who greeted you, following her into the seating area glad to escape the cold. She left two menus on the table with a promise to return shortly, allowing you both to settle into the booth and shrug your coats off to the side.

It didn’t take long for the conversation to start, both of you sharing information about yourselves. The drinks came your way, and eventually so did your food. You indulged in trying a vegan option out of pure curiosity, offering it to Steven if you didn’t like it.

That’s how you both ended up chuckling at something he had said, barely waiting to properly chew to respond to the other. “So, you’re telling me” you took a second to swallow the sip of lemonade to cleanse your palette “that you made a statue actor break in order to give you dating advice? That’s-”

“Sad I know” his eyes dropped from yours, smile faltering slightly.

You tilted your head, grabbing his hand gently and offering him a smile “I was going to say that it's oddly relatable” you patted his hand, looking at him as he slowly met your eyes once more. “Besides we all need advice sometimes” you shrugged, slowly withdrawing your hand before you picked up on some vinaigrette left over on his face “You’ve got a little” you pointed to the corner of your own mouth hoping he’d pick up on what you meant.

He instantly picked up the napkin, wiping at his mouth quickly. You could see the red growing on his ears, something that made you smirk. You watched as he licked at his lips, finding it amusing that he still seemed to have such a boyish innocence to him “Did I get it?”

His brown eyes met yours as you let out a small huff, leaning over the table to get it off the one spot he missed with your thumb. You absentmindedly licked it from your finger, unaware at how flustered that made the man in front of you as he watched. He stared for a second, before clearing his throat.

“You still haven’t told me the hint yet” he looked at you with an intensity that you didn’t expect as your attention fell back down to him from the tv above his head. He leaned back against the booth, giving you a lopsided grin “Besides, you still have to guess my favorite Greek deity.”

“You’re right, I owe you a hint don’t I?” you smiled back at him, mimicking his movement to lean back. “Alright how’s this? He causes all nostrils and every throat to be filled with fresh air” you quoted it directly from the mythology book you had read the previous night. You waited as he pieced it together, seeming to be his own little encyclopedia.

“There’s no way you like that bloody pigeon?” You furrowed your brows in confusion as he spoke, it almost sounded personal if you didn’t know any better. His expression lightened as he realized his tone, shaking his head and smiling apologetically “Sorry, sorry. I’m not overly fond of that one. No judgment though, the folklore does make him seem cool I suppose.”

You blinked at him, noticing the change in tone. The corners of your lips slowly fell, and it made his stomach churn with guilt. Your head tilted as he picked his fork back up, seeming slightly uncomfortable “So what about my hint, hmm?” you offered a deflection from the Egyptian end, offering to dive into Greek. Although if he was so heavily opinionated, he’d probably have a ball with yours regarding the Greeks.

He took a second, swallowing some of his water before he cleared his throat. “I’ll give you a hint, but only over dinner. Let’s say, Thursday at six?” how he got through that without blowing it was a mystery, but he watched as you blushed nonetheless.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Thanks for reading, totally let me know what you think!

Series Taglist: @realityshifter111 @emily-roberts @yoisthename @ahookedheroespureheart @dinwifey @lonelyburd @babyymeme

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thestoriesfold · 1 year ago

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Tonight’s Golden Hour: Introduction

Summary: You find a new beginning. A new country, a new place to live. But this isn’t living, not yet. Something was off.

Pairings: Marc Spector x gn!reader, Steven Grant x gn!reader, Jake Lockely x gn!reader, Y/N is used sparingly.

Word Count: 2.1k

Content: angst (barely), paranormal stuff happens.

Warnings: probably cursing and language, death in family!, references to cults, eventual references to witchcraft.

Notes: This is NOT proof read. Horrible grammar- probably. Honestly, I just had to get this part out of the way. Be gentle with me, I’ll actually cry. This series will come with its own soundtrack, you’re welcome.

Masterlist 🌙 Pt. 1

The day was dreary, probably normal for regular Londoners. But that wasn’t normal for you. No, you never planned on being here. Your home was warm when this was cold. You could hear nothing but the city, where as home would offer the potential of hearing the waves of the sea, maybe music. The building in front of you mocked you with its old sense of luxury. You never had anything more than a small house, one that was fit for a lonely person as yourself. You could never understand how your late Nana could ever come to have this. Your family seemed to struggle to stay afloat trying to leave what felt like a cult. It was honestly, it was the only reason you’d ultimately agreed to be here. Those bastards always found a way back into your lives, taking another family member with every prolonged visit. It hurt to know that you were the only one left not falling for the tyrannical brainwashing that had persuaded your loved ones.

That wasn’t completely true, your grandmother died before they could get her back into their grimy hands. That made you, the person standing in the driveway, smile slightly. Maybe she got out after all, escaped. Maybe I have too, you thought. It was one thing to move across the country, it was another to end up halfway across the continent. Yet, here you were, all of your belongings sorted between a suit case, back pack, tote, and carry on bag. Safe to say, moving was easy for you.

You only then felt the chill of the London breeze against your skin. Perhaps, you got ahead of yourself. But that wouldn’t matter any longer, not as you shoved your hands in the fabric of your jacket sleeves and forced onward. The closer you got, the deeper the pit in your stomach grew. The house looked normal, but you ultimately felt off. Your head turned to look behind you, seeing nothing but cars passing by the thrush covered fence, and the steel gate that separated you from the rest of London. The garden that surrounded the house was small, probably perfect for someone like your grandma. You blinked at the rose bush that had started to wrap around one of the porch’s posts.

All you could hear at this point was the sound of cars passing by behind you. You couldn’t pinpoint the feelings churning inside your stomach as you slowly unlocked the front door. The hinges made their old age known as the door swung open. It revealed the main entrance. The small corridor led into the front parlor of the house on one side, the other leading to a lowered study. Your eyes scanned the stairway that led up to the other floor of the house. Your mouth fell agape as you stepped fully into the house. The house was still furnished in your grandmother’s particular style.

“‘M glad she stayed so up to trends” you had enough mind to say as you put your jacket on the coat rack. The house looked like one in a movie. Part of you felt lucky despite the eerie feeling radiating off the walls. You gently shut the door behind you, giving yourself a tour of the front parlor. Antiques lined the house from top to bottom, every piece seemed like it could’ve been a hundred years old. You’d never truly know.

You crossed the corridor, stepping down into the large room of the study your grandmother had left you. Books older than time itself lined the shelves along the walls. You remembered how you’d sit and read together for hours. You remembered your grandmother swearing on putting lavender and a splash of milk in her cup of tea, opting to do it for her oldest grandchild as well.

The sigh that flooded the room was one of emotions that you had held onto for months now. It took so long to get things sorted out, you hardly had enough time to mourn. In fact, your grandma was all you really had anymore after the rest of your family joined that stupid group. Tears gathered in your eyes as you ran your knuckles over an all familiar title. One she’d read you every night as a child. Before everything went wrong.

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It had taken an hour for you to memorize where everything you would come to regularly use within such a large house was. You sunk into the chair that accompanied a large mahogany desk that rested in front of an even larger mantled fireplace. A sigh passed your lips once more, something you’d come to do a lot as the years blurred on. Your hands gently lifted the computer from your bag, bringing it to the desk and began your search. “Y/N has to get themselves a job” you mumbled. You just needed something for food and transportation. The will made sure that this house would cost absolutely nothing for her grandchild, meaning you didn’t have to do anything extravagant. To your luck an opening at a nearby library was available, several actually. “Guessing the job of a librarian is a dying breed, eh?” You asked yourself as you clicked on the application.

Filling out the information came easy, you finished up quickly. Your back hit the chair, making it lean with you. Your eyes closed slowly. Tomorrow was going to be something else, something new. You just hoped that nothing would screw it up, especially yourself.

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You forced yourself from bed days later, doing your best to look presentable for the job interview. Your eyes took in the variation of shades that made up the look. You looked normal, maybe the circles under your eyes was what threw you off. A small huff left your lips as you finished getting ready, hoping you’d remember to eat afterwards. Important things, they made you undeniably nervous. Too nervous to eat, too nervous to relax until the damage was done. That’s what you reminded yourself as you stepped onto the coach, paying the fee due to not having a pass just yet. The library wasn’t that far; you knew that, but you didn’t want to risk walking along the streets alone yet. You weren’t from London. The white knuckle grip you had on the bus rail was a reminder of why you missed home. You could walk everywhere.

Your eyes stayed focused on the stops above the headline, eager to get off the damn thing. The man next to you had done a piss poor job of not staring. You could feel the Greek curse leave your lips as you stepped down onto the sidewalk, finding your footing as you took in the large building. Nerves flowed through your body till this point, now you were just dead excited. Working with books, in a huge library. You could only imagine what you could get your hands on.

Hasty with your movements, you quickly stepped through the main doors. Your hands found their way around each other as you approached the counter, an awkward smile gracing your lips as you approached a much older woman. She was older than even your late grandmother. The wrinkled face looked up at you, eyes lighting up to see someone actually show up for an interview. You greeted each other, the old lady taking a while to come around the counter. It didn’t matter, you would wait. Something about the old woman smiling at you like that, would give you the patience of three saints.

“Hello there, darling! It’s so nice knowing the young folk still appreciate places like this” she gestured to the vast room that contained centuries of literature. “I suppose, we should get to business shall we? Here dear, follow me.”

You merely nodded, opting to follow the woman “Thank you so much for accepting my application, this place is beautiful” you admitted. Astonished, your eyes scanned over the two floors of paper. You almost missed Janet calling a man over, his dark curls swirling in different directions as he approached the two of you.

“Ah, Steven! Hello. This is the new hire I was telling you about” you turn to the man in front of you, both hesitating to speak too long for Janet. She ended the silence, looking between the two of you. “Anyway, Steven, would you mind covering the counter while I take ‘em to the office for our little interview?”

He took a second to break away from whatever trance had overtaken him. He could hear Marc’s voice in his head, but he ignored it. He’d gotten better at that lately, offering a lopsided grin as he spoke “It was great to meet you, Y/N. I hope it goes well” he offered a small nod of the head before turning around to the counter.

His face fell as Marc’s voice started in his head, telling him that he made it weird. You didn’t take notice of how his shoulders deflated slightly as Janet directed you to the back office. ‘Great job, Steven. Really’ Marc’s voice dripped with sarcasm as Steven rounded the counter, slowly sitting in the chair.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Both of you walked out with grins, Janet hobbling slightly ahead of you as she approached the front desk. Your eyes met the dark brown of Steven’s, causing you to give him a thumbs up. An almost childlike excitement was rolling off of you, glad that this had gone your way. He mimicked your hands “Congrats! Welcome to our dainty little crew” he chuckled as Janet shook her head.

“Speak for yourself, Grant. Nothing on this body is dainty just yet, young man” her tone had a sense of fire to it, causing you to let out a small laugh “I expect to see you both tomorrow bright and early” she spoke to the you both pointedly. With that, you and Steven exchanged a glance. He was taking in your features the best he could, you were observing him. Almost mentally preparing for whatever tomorrow’s little show of the ropes would be like. You didn’t like not knowing.

You said your goodbyes shortly after Janet took over the counter once more. As your shoes hit the pavement, a grin graced your lips. You’d gotten a job, a nice one at that. Your grin grew as you saw a coffee shop just down the street, still early enough in the day not to be completely flooded. That day was a good day, despite the creaks in the floorboards that night keeping you awake. Despite the shadows that bent and twisted, despite feeling like a presence was watching as you struggled to finally fall asleep.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It was like something held you down, eyes wide open as the moonlight flooded into the room. Your eyes looked around, watching as the shadows of the tree outside seemed to curl inwards. Your breath came out as quietly as you could allow it, feeling your fingers twitch. The house creaked as you lay there. You were convinced your mind was playing tricks on you. This was some twisted dream of yours. You had the imagination.

Your body was stuck, pressed to the bed with an unseen weight. At least you thought so, until a book that fell from your dresser jerked your body up from the mattress. A twinge of anxiety burrowed itself in your chest, this house was more than old enough to be haunted or something. But, it couldn’t be that. Right?

Your bare feet on the cold floor made you more aware, more awake as you bent to pick up the book. Your hands slowly turned the book over, allowing you to see the old, and rather dusty cover. You felt your brows furrow as the title was in Greek, mouth falling open as you spoke the title out loud, Greek being your mother-tongue “Εκάτη Σκοτεινή Μητέρα?”

As you finished the last syllable, your door peaked open. The hinges whined loudly, your body jumping as you felt your heart nearly explode. Your breath was labored, you knew better than to move, than to make a sound. But you had to, this was your house now. Your bare feet slowly moved along the cold wood, every other step causing the floorboards to creak beneath your weight. You slowly descended the stairs, opting for the fire poker as a weapon in the case of an intruder. Wide eyes checked every possible crevice of space in front of you, heart beating loudly in your ears.

You found yourself in the study, already having cleared the house of any odd doings. Your hand slowly loosened on the fire poker, not seeing any signs of anyone ever being in the house. With a sigh, you put the poker down. Why was this happening? Looking at the ashes that littered the fire wood, you rubbed what little sleep you had gotten from your eyes. It was early, three in the morning was what the clock said. There was no way you were sleeping. You shook your head, opting to tidy up the study a little. You adjusted small things here and there, coming to the final corner. Squinting at the small statuette that had fallen into the floor. You picked up the two pieces it had broken into, taking in the sight of the bottom’s three womanly figures. In your other hand, you observed three different heads, the one in the middle sporting some sort of moon emblem. Letting out one final huff, you looked at the pieces in your hands “Merida..”

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Translation: Hecate, Mother Darkness.

Also- Merida in an assortment of languages means shit. :)

Thanks for reading, totally let me know what you think!

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