#wywdfl

There were a lot of things people called you.

Many not nice, many just condescending...you definitely weren't known for being wise. You acted off of impulse, and maybe that was why you're always getting in trouble. Whether it be in school, financially, or...right now.

At least in those past instances, though, you weren't in a life or death situation. Maybe that's why you thought you could do this on your own, kick your own mind into gear and take it by the hind legs. Maybe it was because you tried to outrun him before and it backfired.

You didn't want to give him that victory again.

As your darling chaser cradled his new wound, hissing in light defeat as he reeled from the cut, you jumped immediately from the boot and gave yourself pressure to your bare feet. They sent an agonizing ache up to your calves, but you grit your teeth and grind them together, running towards the driver seat.

Your feet felt the sharp gravel bite into your soles, each step sent screaming nerves in your body, pushing with adrenaline fueling you forward. Even if this were kind of hot in theory, you couldn't let him recover.

The keys were still clutched securely in your hands bound together, metal edges also stabbing into your palms and giving you a crimson trickle that wet your forearms. You reached hastily to open the driver's side door, in a panic, fumbling the keys in your hands but to no avail. Putting each key in the hole of the now locked car. Your bound hands fumbled awkward enough to drop them on the floor, an inward gasp exuding immediately.

"Come on," You muttered with tears in your eyes, the rope tightly bind on your wrists while you wiggled your fingers to try and rip the door out of its place. Your fingers clumsily attempted to use what strength you had to force the door open, but it was almost like trying to thread a needle with mittens on.

Just as you were able to start booking it, your current kidnapper's hand shot out and grabbed at your covered wrist. You shrieked, using all of your might to try and struggle your way out, but he was just too strong for you. Your grip began to slip from the keys, and he sighed tiredly.

"This game is tedious," He said lightly. "You may as well do what you do with everything else, and give up."

"You don't even know me!" You yelled back at him, your voice scratching from your constant screaming but you didn't relent whatsoever, "Leave me alone!"

You were so unsettled by the next look he gave you that your chest started to tighten, like the breathing you were initially holding had been dragging itself back to your lungs. His violet eyes were darker, and colder than when he did look at you. Like he lacked a core emotion. After what you saw from him, you were unsurprised and it wasn't a stretch to believe he didn't actually have them, but it was still eery to look at considering the silence between the both of them.

"I don't have anything for you." You compromised. "Just let me go. I won't fuck with you, even if it kills me."

"How predictable," He spoke lowly, almost a sharp whisper, but it had carried a more hostile edge that made your blood run cold in seconds. "You're not hard to know. I've been looking for someone like you for ages, always thinking they can outrun their problems. Always thinking they can solve all of their problems by walking away from it. Walk away from this."

You didn't even see his hand reach into his pocket before there was already a steely glint against your throat, the cold texture on the skin of your pharynx. Your breathing became erratic, chest rising and falling in gasps of desperation. But even with this in mind, he still stared at you with an unsettling intensity. Like you were some type of puzzle piece that was lost after six months of completing the picture, intending on putting you back. You tried to pull away again with a violent jerk, but his hold was unyielding against you, iron shackles.

"Just let me go!" You cried, "Okay?! I won't say shit, I swear. You'll never see me again!" You spat out, your voice shaking despite the valiant effort to sound resolute. To sound like you were trying to fight for your own life. You lost your voice a few times, trying to keep yourself from shivering against the very threatening knife too close for comfort.

His silence was terrifying, defeaning in your eyes while he studied you, sizing you up. You knew the wheels were turning, which meant he was considering your plea for a split second. But just as you thought that, a gladdened smile spread on his face, teeth slightly baring as he sucked at his teeth.

You had no idea what was going on until you heard the low rumble of an engine resounding from afar. Both of them paused, their eyes narrowing towards the noise as a rusty, light blue vehicle moved to a slow stop across from the two of them.

Slowly reaching for the window to unwind it, the woman who seemed to be in her early fifties pulled her glasses up to her face at the two. "Is... everything okay?" She asked with mild confusion. "I heard screaming all the way from here while I was on my way home."

You stopped in your tracks, looking slowly at your kidnapper who was looking at you already with a squint as a warning.

taglist ♢ @kinvasions @kazumiku @animeobsessed56 @levianamor @auroratumbles

"Yeah, I understand that it's the third day I haven't paid my rent, I'm telling you my banks been closed."

Your voice to your landlord, Kamisato Ayato (who is also your boss), on the phone reeked with desperation. And yet, even though this was the case, you still had time to snack on chicken strips at a picnic table.

"(L/N), there's nothing else I can do, your extension is up. I need a payment by tomorrow." His voice crackled through the phone, stern but never sympathetic. "I have other tenants to consider."

"Wouldn't have guessed that one." You laughed as a jab at the other, a thin veneer of your humor and the intense need to scream gnawed at your mouth. “You’re rich as hell telling me that you have other tenants to consider, but you’re still making me clean toilets? Couldn't give me a promotion to accountant or anything? I know about 16 of your slimy practices.”

“You're being dramatic.”

“The only other tenants are Itto and Yoimiya with her dad. This is a side thing for you with how often my shower head is broken.” Your eyes dulled. “If anything, I should be telling you to pay me.”

The other end went silent, as your boss Ayato cleared his throat. “I never said it was free housing in the lease.”

“Ooh, slimy practice number 17! Hey, maybe if you make it to 20, I can wring 700,000 mora out of you.”

“You can make as many threats as you want, you still haven't paid in time. I can’t keep extending deadlines for you.” Ayato’s voice hardened. “If you can’t pay by tonight, you will have to find somewhere else to stay.”

You felt helpless in the moment, but still managed to hold on to the call for just a few more seconds. “Really, Kamisato.” Your voice dulled. “You’re going to lock me out of my apartment, keep me in a Halloween costume, and deny my valid reason just because I didn’t pay up 1,000 mora? Me, who cleans your event hall everyday.”

“Perhaps you should have been more conscious of your money management. Please be more responsible in the future, (L/N). Good luck to you.”

And with that, he hung up. You let out a growl of frustration and slammed your phone down on the picnic table. It happened to bounce up and land face down on the floor. You gasped lightly, reaching quickly to pick it up as you checked it frantically.

Cracks up and down the screen of your phone you still managed to be making payments on. "Wow..." You stared at the cracks in disbelief, feeling a disastrous amount of weight that prompted you to throw away the greasy chicken strips. You've been going to this place for so long to save money that you wondered if you were ever really saving anyway.

You gathered your thoughts quickly before continue your walk back home. You had just came back from a big Halloween party that your neighbor Yoimiya invited you to. You weren't listening entirely, but she was yapping hard about this concept about soulmates and how it's been actually proven that what the mark you were born with yadda yadda yadda. Because of this, anyway, she had made these weird concoctions that made the fireworks different colors. From purple, orange, green, and so on to get everyone in the spirit.

You were too scared of her to say no; one of these days you were convinced she's going to accidentally make a nuke and kill everyone. You'd rather not make an enemy if it meant you had a chance living in her oddly huge bunker (how did she make a bunker underground her bottom floor apartment?).

If anything, your spirit was crushed as soon as you left the party. With how the only guy blowing up your phone was Ayato and he just wanted the money that he gave you back, and looking like a very horrible version of an 80's professional acrobatics instructor with an equally as bad haircut, you were pretty much having the worst Halloween night of your life.

Especially seeing your crush for 13 years, Xiao, kiss the literal only other guy at the party, Venti. How long were you even waiting to get your chance? He didn't even know Venti that well compared to you, and he was probably crushing on him just because he could sing. And now you have the very moment that you were happy to not in the blink of an eye, so miserable seeing it that you could swear you felt yourself sober up.

And to Creep by Radiohead blaring in the background, they were kissing to one of the most unconventional songs you can kiss to. For what may have been a song for them to remember their first kiss was a song that you wanted to shove an ice pick through your ear canal every time you heard it now. You guessed the soulmate stuff Yoimiya was talking about was true. They saw the exact same mark on each others wrists...

You could sing too, probably even better than he could. Singing isn't even that hard.

As you started singing a very off-key and melancholic version of Teenage Dream by Katy Perry to prove yourself right, you weren't even worried about the long winded alleyways and dark streets you were weaving through. The eeriness of the night was mocking, but comforting. Long, distorted shadows, making the streetlights cast them oddly.

Your footsteps echoed against the narrow walls of the alleyways, a gust of wind sent a shiver down your spine and stretched the night on. You kicked a pebble absentmindedly, watching as it skittered along the cracked pavement. It was ironic being at a party you actually felt comfortable being at and getting your hopes absolutely shattered in the meantime. It seemed so out of reach from what did occur.

The sight of your apartment was a burden, and even though you were guaranteed going to be kicked out tomorrow, you didn't want to linger on the reminder any longer.

As you were about to climb the steps, you paused once you heard something similar to a whine. It was faint when you first heard it, almost blending in to the light pollution of the street. You turned your body towards the nearby alleyway, awaiting for another noise to confirm your delusions. Moments passed, each second stretching into eternity. Just when you were about to dismiss it again, another cry of what sounded like a man alerted you, followed by a groveling sound that sounded similar to a guttural gurgle.

Hell. No.

Now usually, you would mind your business and go to sleep with a knife in the bed next to you. You were not a stickler for being the person in the horror movies that said 'let's go see what it is'! But you weren't entirely convinced that the neighborhood was terrible, and with your current dilemma? Maybe dying a horrible death would feel better than whatever you're about to go through in the next twenty-four hours.

But at the same time...you weren't convinced that whatever is doing that wasn't an injured puppy or something. You may have had a heart for what happens to animals, but you aren't stupid.

You didn't think you were ever going to get an opportunity like this again.

In the midst of apprehension and fear, you stood there next to your captor stiff. Standing in the lingering shadow of your own fate, heart beating fast in your chest, the drumming in your ears getting louder with each second passing. You don't know if it was the winds shiftiness that was making you unsteady, or the sore wrists you inhabit, but something was clawing in your chest.

You couldn't let it show, not now. The car hummed lowly in front of the two, and as you narrowed your eyes towards the guy, your throat tightened. You had a window, one moment to speak up and this would probably all be over. You wanted to cry for help, as unrest clamped hard on your throat.

"I'm only checking to see if you kids need any help," She called out, her voice soft but probing, like she already knew something wasn't.

"We're fine," He said, low and controlled with a certain gravel, cringing at his pacing. You felt like you were splintering apart. "Everything's fine. We're a little tired from a show."

"A show?"

Yeah, if we're calling wild goose chases 'shows' now, I'm sure you won't tell her that, though. You could only smile with a more comfortable aura this time to mask the tension, but your eyebrows were furrowed. "College adaptation of Scream. Spooky...!" You wanted to raise your arms to do jazz hands, but you doubt that would make it look any less suspicious.

The woman's eyes lingered on you a minute longer, face creased with confusion. She hesitated, glancing at the man beside you, slowly absorbing what could be going on here. She tapped on the wheel in thought, her head tilted. "My granddaughter loves those movies, I believe," She said slowly. "Maybe you two go to the same school as she does?"

You looked at your kidnapper, to which he looked at you back, the both of you with side eyes. The dryness in your throat making it more difficult to speak. "Yeeeeah!" You both drawled.

"What a small world. Pretty sure she was the only one who at the rehearsal, we told her to get out, but she just kept insisting." He forced out, the smile on his face twisting into a little bit of a rougher one as he started becoming impatient. The laugh from his throat was hollow, almost foreign, as if it came from someone else. You were crumbling yourself, breaking down bit by bit.

"That sounds like my Julia," The woman said lovingly. "Be sure not to keep those ties on you for too long there, okay? You two are quite dedicated to the craft, I hope to see you out there!" Her voice was soft, probing, but with hardly any suspicion anymore.

It was unfortunate how bad your heart dropped in your chest that there was no. A specific feeling crawling up your spin like icy fingers, she gave you one last look, as if she was trying to find something, a little...unspoken cry for help. You stayed quiet as a mouse, still. "Have a good night, you two." She reached for the gear shift, and the car hummed softly.

She pulled away as the two of them smiled, eyes tracking the slow moving car. Her taillights casting a faint red glow over the darkening streets. She was gone, and in the moment that you two were standing there in the wake of the closest call you could muster, the brief flicker of what you thought was hope was extinguished again.

You squeezed your eyes shut in exhaustion. You were so fucking close; so agonizingly close, even. The universe was turning its back on you yet again as you stare at the distant and foggy path.

But...? For some reason, you felt relieved, too. Not with how your situation faired currently, but that you may have saved a life. You didn't have that much going for yourself right now, so it was nice to feel like you at least did something right. That feeling in your chest made you want to climb mountains, though for a brief period of time until you looked back at your kidnappers severely handsome face.

He seemed to be in thought too, but for a less innocent reason you could easily scope out. "What now? You gonna cut me up and stuff mashed potatoes in me like I'm a turkey? Do it."

"I'm glad you still have the heart to make jokes," he replied, cocking his head slightly as if trying to figure you out. "It makes me feel less bad for what's going to happen next." His fingers drummed adroitly on the hood of the car, each tap threatening your neck like a coiled snake.

"Oh, fantastic!" You threw your conjoined wrists up in defeat. "You know what? You're full of shit, right? Because you don't even know if I saw you stab your friend, and even if I did, why would I snitch you out when you're quite obviously going to come for my cheeks?! You should be thanking me that I saved your ass, but instead you're doing this bit where you act all mysterious and try to keep me on my toes. Jokes on you, I've watched Twilight before. I know what guys do to chase their toys."

"That's nice." He droned. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I have no idea why you want to kill and murder me, either, but we move on, I guess!" You spat, before sitting on the gravelly path and loosening your shoulders. "I give up. If you want to leave me like roadkill on the side of the road, do it. I don't want to go home, anyway."

He was irritatingly handsome in this light, like a villain carved from some god damn ancient myth, indifferent to your fate. Like you were just a mere mortal to him, and his lips quirked in a small and solemn smile. As per usual, he found it funny that you were throwing your hands up and surrendering. "I didn't go through the trouble to do that."

"Yeah you did. You're all the same." You shot back, your voice sulky and heavy. "It's always this fucked up game to keep you from getting bored. Until you find the next one."

He knelt down, the darkened gravel crunching under his shoes. "You don't know shit about me to even be concerned on whether you're dying today, or tomorrow, or any time soon." He said so quietly his voice was almost a sharp whisper only you could hear. He was turning your words over in his mind, shaping it himself. His face was inches from yours again, holding a long gaze. "But you're right about one thing."

Your stomach churned, and just as your fears predicted, you sucked in a deep breath, your mouth falling ajar before looking down at your shoulder. It took you a minute to process what happened before a large, crimson stain ate away at what was left of the fabric there. You felt warm, a different type of pain from what your body was already experiencing.

"I do get bored easily."

You could barely grasp onto what he was saying properly from how your shoulder screamed, excruciating lapses of pain rushing through your body so prominent that you fought not to pass out. You didn't care to try not to cry and wail in pain, you had nothing to lose.

Crimson spilled from your hands as he forced the knife out, the gushing of the liquids leaving him to marvel at your inner turmoil. Impenetrable enjoyment, as you already noted flowing through his body as he let out a resigned sigh. He lifted his hand to grab violently at your face, holding it with little regard in his hands, the metal of the ring on his thumb almost splitting a part of your chin.

"No more." He said finally, tone devoid of his previous one. "We're done playing, 'soulmate'."

no poll for this chapter! (you guys are kinda bad at this, no offense. see you next week!)

taglist ♢ @kinvasions @kazumiku @animeobsessed56 @levianamor @auroratumbles

@mellowberrie @scarawiki @xxxion @shutingstar @feikyuu

You've had many hangovers. You've fell in the bathtub once after your nightly trip in the dark, or maybe more than once? Either way, you've hit your head enough that your consciousness was a concern. You were definitely lacking braincells...

And somehow, none of those moments ever compared to how you felt right now. Prying your eyes open, the throbbing was directed at the intricate grooves of your brain. Every time you tried to twist over to a better angle, your forehead touched something cold, and it sent shivers down your spine.

You couldn't see anything, not even a light that could present tiself as a crack. Laying there on your back helplessly, trying to recollect your steps before. As your brain wandered, with little reaction you mustered, you gasped once you were struck with your last moments.

'Imagine pulling a cheap ass shot like that and still losing', pushed to the front in particular. Your eyes dulled, mute rage in the void.

Whatever, loser. What a bold thing to say to someone who's running for their life from you, it's almost as if you're a threat to society.

What did he even do with you? Lifting your hands hesitantly to confirm your suspicions, your wrists were stopped by something hard and the clanking sound of you driving them onto the top making a thick thudding. Your wrists were tied together, alongside with your entire body, struggling to find breath with the rope hugging your ribs.

Your breath caught in your throat, suffocating by the second, your entire body moving in the rhythm of the car. At first you thought you were inside of a really prickly casket, but then as you thought about the acceleration and the subtle vibrations on your back, you squinted.

You were in his trunk, weren't you.

You reached out again, your joined hands reached out again to the top as you brushed your hands against the wired fabric, confirming your assumptions. You exhaled largely, hands falling limp back onto your torso, closing your eyes again to no avail.

Out of everything that you could have wished right now, you could have settled with watching Gossip Girl on your small television with the risk of getting evicted the next day. You could have asked Yoimiya or Itto for money to keep you afloat and be forever indebted to them, you could seduce your landlord, in a sense. You could have done anything right now, and been cozy. Not content, but cozy.

You just shouldn't have been nosy, maybe. Though, there's something ironic about everything you've read about in those niche Twilight fanfictions coming to life now. Just with twelve times the fear those people had getting napped by the vampires.

You moved your shoulders to reach for the rest of the trunk to find something you could get your hands on, but instead of that, you were met with something soft and cold instead. Gripping it, the texture felt stretchy in your hands, fluid and movable. You moved your hands further up, and immediately drew your hands away when you felt something wet.

The smell of copper overwhelmed your senses once your fingers were coated in what smelled like old pennies, hanging heavy around you.

Cringing, your fingers curled. "Oh my god," You whispered to yourself in a shaky tone, breath lapsing as you hit the back of your head against the trunk. You pushed yourself to the furthest point, and cried. "You fucking freak! I can't even be in here in peace?!"

The feeling of the other person was burnt into your head, his skin still soft and the bloodied clothing of his torso, the subtle pierced skin of his abdomen. Squeezing your eyes shut as you felt them sting with uncladded weeping. You were about to have a panic attack, but on the bright side, the fact that your only company was a newly made corpse was pretty funny.

Funny enough to make you hysterical, at least. You weren't interested in spending your last moments being a little bitch about it, at least, and you immediately started brainstorming in tears about how you were going to get out of here. Or call for help.

Okay. You're cooked.

Not because of the fact that you were clawing at the ceiling of a trunk desperate for some type of out or chance to run, no, you had faith that you'd still come up standing. You're cooked because the only thing your head could viably think of was seeing if the body had something valuable. It gnawed in your brain—maybe he had something of use, and your key to survival was staring you right in the face!

Prompting you further to actually...touch the dead man again. You don't want to do this, but if you have to check the body for something, then...maybe this was your way out? The idea of having to do anything with a corpse made your skin crawl. The cold and lifelessness of its eyes despite the dark trunk made your skin crawl, heart beating quicker at its general eeriness.

You felt your bottom lip wobble, overwhelmed with your possibilities. Despite it, you kept them lightly pursed. You cringed while you reached out for the man, swallowing the incoming bile threatening to surface in your throat while you blindly patted at him. Your fingers trembled uncontrollably, feeling unbearably strangled by how cramped the space was, darkness pressing in on you while you explored what you knew what blood on your fingers and nausea crawling in your esophagus.

There was a light sense of death, and while you smelled what clung to the air thickly, the body's pockets were all empty aside from the inside jacket pocket. It contained a small ring of keys, the steely texture of them you gripped onto in reaction, pulling them out. You cringed when you grazed against the body's still bloody wound soaking his shirt.

You held the keys closer to yourself, fidgeting with them in your hands to investigate. They were all standard sized, apart from the one you moved to next. It felt thicker, like a key to something else. You couldn't put your finger on what it could be to, but you knew it could have been used as a weapon if you needed it.

But then...there was a different possibility you were thinking of, in particular. One that could get rid of all of this in an instant, one that can wipe the look off your offender's face. With your bound hands, you kept fumbling the keys in your hand to unlock the trunk. Each one a different shape and size from what you could fit inside of the trunk's lock.

Clinging onto that sliver of hope that you were carrying with confidence was to no avail, even the thicker key didn't fit, but this time you were stiffer. It was pretty obvious that no matter what you did, that guy was a step ahead of you constantly. You weren't going to get out of this by lifting your legs up and expecting someone to wipe your ass.

You needed someone to open it from the outside. You needed someone to know that you were in this trunk, but since he was driving, it was nearly impossible to even do that without him knowing about it. The only choice was brute force, at this point.

You gripped onto the keys with both hands tied, specifically holding the thicker key, and you gritted your teeth. You didn't know why you were so willing to get out of this, especially since it's not like you were going back to a better situation in comparison to you, but you weren't going to die. You weren't going down with a fight.

Moving yourself so your back leaned against the bod, you tried to ignore the body and it's sudden weight that you felt. You squeezed your eyes, a surge of pain hitting you again. "Fuck, I'm so sorry, dude," You whispered before lurching your wounded legs up to your cheat, striking the top of the trunk as hard as you could without hurting yourself. You felt the stings of pain along your entire body, your muscles screaming as you got more and more aggressive with your kicking.

The vehicle swayed lightly at first, the motion almost unnoticeable, like a small boat that was being nudged by gentle currents. But eventually, he noticed the movements became more pronounced— sharp, erratic, violent jerks that sent convulsion through the frame. The rear of the car dipped slightly each time, suspension creaking under the force.

You kept kicking, even when the balls of your feet were giving out and even when your legs were begging you to stop. Your brain was pleading you to quit making a ruckus, your arms aching from keeping them in a folded position for hours. You started yelling as loud as you could, own voice ringing in your ears.

Your throat took the same damage as the rest of your body, it felt like. The car was rolling to a stop once you felt your throat be torn to shreds. You kept kicking and screaming, even when you felt the car come to a complete stop, even when you heard the car door open. Your fingers curled tighter on the keys, your eyes panicking for any sort of light that would make you act.

You wanted to catch him off guard— you didn't.

He clicked the trunk open, the lock resounded before you used your feet to shoot it open. He grabbed your ankle in a vice-like grip, dragging you closer to him. "Shut the fuck up." He growled, his tone was low and venomous against your ear, leaning down and closing the distance. This time you could see his entire face.

He leaned in closer and closer, it felt suffocating, and you couldn't even marvel at how handsome he was at the moment. Even though it heavily wandered in your head for a moment. His features were complimenting each other, angular, cast into harsh relief by the darkness. "Bold, really bold, psycho! Just take me home, and I won't say shit about you to anybody!"

"Aw, poor baby thought they can thrash their way out of this and that's all it takes. I don't fucking trust you for one second." He taunted, voice dripping with contempt. "Be good. I didn't cover your mouth for the sake of it being more humane, but that's my mistake for..." He didn't get to finish his complaint, because even though he expected you to completely throw a fit...he didn't expect you to be armed.

"Fuck you!" You put the rest of your reborn strength into your tied arms, and gave a single thrash at his face with the key you found, metal dragging through his flesh. He didn't cry out like you expected, but he did let go momentarily as he went to the new, pointed wound.

You bolted out that metaphorical open door like a new Mario Party was being released.

taglist ♢ @kinvasions @kazumiku @animeobsessed56 @levianamor @auroratumbles

What year is it?

When your eyes finally fluttered open...the world around you circumferences into a blob of fading pain. Even though you were met with the strong realization that you were still in the same situation as you were...probably 7 hours ago? This time, in the front seat of the car.

The passengers seat of the car, bathing in a light of the rising sun you'd thought you'd never witness. Cold leather of the interior pressed against your back, your skin throbbed relentlessly still with a tourniquet wrapped around the stab. A dull and distant pain now, a memory that hadn't fully settled but stung like one. The first time in a while you wished you were back home wasn't frequent. This was definitely one of those times.

The car hummed with a soft engine, lower with a sound of rhythmic value. "Huh..." You drawled, a trail of drool that traveled down the car window slowly maneuvered in swishes with every turn. You mentally cursed yourself for falling asleep, heart pounding in your chest again.

Your stomach churned, and it all suddenly made sense.

"Pull over." You said lowly, feeling bile rise up in your throat at the sudden image of the dead body in the trunk rearing its ugly head.

He didn't answer immediately, narrowing his eyes with a frown as he switched his gaze from you to the road. "No time."

"Unless you want chunks of pastries and candy corn all over the dashboard, pull over." Your tone was so dull that he couldn't even tell if it were an emergency or not. Quickly, he pulled over.

Before the car came to a full stop, you spilled out as soon as you tugged on the door handle. You fumbled down to the ground, propping yourself on one arm to leave the wounded one unbothered before spilling onto the pavement with a large cry. You coughed, retching the contents that were in your stomach rise and spill onto the ground. It was a relief you were in a different position, despite the heavy smell of your own vomit clasping your nose violently.

You couldn't muster up any strength to pick your head up from your position, so you laid there still, shuddering at you felt the contents touch you. Your body shook from the strain of your wound, aggressive and continuous vomiting that had you emptied. Pavement beneath you rough and cool, yet uncomfortable with the rocks cutting into your cheek.

You could feel him standing over you, presence looming irritably. But you couldn't even pay him any mind with focusing on your ragged gasps. You heard him sigh, low and exasperated as he too, began wincing once holding onto your body and lifting it. "You're fine," He muttered, despite having no real heat in his voice this time. Just impatience. "Stop fighting."

You wanted to bite his head off, to tell him you'd make an effort to comply when you felt like it, but your body surged sweltered with agony to even measure how capable you were of fighting him. "It hurts." You responded, dazed.

"Then, adapt."

Your vision swam back and forth, trying to make a sense of his mood from your view. But much like a fogged window, you couldn't see anything. His words shot harsh, but the way he lifted you back onto your feet was careful, working his way around the article of clothing that now were filthy in your bodily fluids. You weren't going to hold up much longer, and by the sound of his hissing every now and then, he seemed to be having a hard time himself.

Your legs wobbled beneath you, sagging immediately against the seat of the car, using the center console as support. He stared at you like he wasn't worried about his prey leaving, frustration evident in the tense line in his jaw. You thought he might just knock you back out, and you hope he did. You leaned back against the car, head spinning wildly.

Without saying anything, he walked around to the backseat and opened the door to rummage through the back. He pulled out a bottle of water, his shoulder tensing every now and then. It was the same shoulder that you actually had a stab wound on. He languidly twisted the cap off, flicking it back into the car and leaning closer to your form, holding the bottle closer to your mouth.

"Open." His voice was flat, it telling to you that he obviously saw this as another inconvenience.

Your eyes glazed over, eyes meeting with his in desperation. All you could really find yourself doing is looking at him, sickening weight of his actions plaguing your minds and his eyes cold and unwavering coinciding. His hair fell messily across his forehead, look defined a certain response you couldn't place your finger on. The haphazard way he moved made him seem less calm than before, even if his voice was still demanding.

"You don't have to think about it so hard," he said, this time more impatiently. "Drink, now."

You swallowed, stiffening as you let him watch you closely. This was insane, you thought. How could you even be sitting here right now, okay with him treating you like you were a vegetable? You parted your lips slowly, the cool water trickling into your mouth, the refreshing icy cold soothing the rawness and the roughness of your throat. He was cataloguing your every move, studying your every breath you took, attempting to tear your eyes away from him.

"Why?" The absurdity of his ways made you grit your teeth, your voice barely above a whisper. "You don't gain anything. Why are you doing this?"

He pulled the bottle back once you'd had enough, wiping your face coated in your own sick with a clean wet wipe he reached out from the backseat as well. "You need to stay alive." He said, absentmindedly. "That's all. Just for a while longer."

The cut on his face wasn't as fresh anymore. Your knees were tucked up to your chest in a lame attempt to help your unsettled stomach. Seemingly satisfied, he rounded the car again after shutting the door and got back into the driver's seat. The car after it started up again was filled with nothing but icy silence, you slyly glanced at the man beside you. There was something... off about him.

You didn't know how much time had passed with you feeling out the throbbing soar through half of your body. Too focused on making sure you didn't throw up again, but when you looked out the window again after regaining your sight through tears, the uniformed rows of tall fir trees thinned out. Civilization was close again, and you took a long time processing it.

The dark trunks of said trees blurred past the windows, bending toward the road like they were part of some wide-open fields of grass stretching far. There was no sign of civilization, nor houses or power lines. The car veered off the main road onto a narrow path of gravel, the wheels crunching under the texture. He slowed the car to a stop beside the home, letting the engine idle for a moment.

He sat still for a beat longer, then turned towards you. "You'll be dealt with, then. And I don't want to hear a sound from you. One syllable, go anywhere you're not supposed to, you're going back in the trunk."

"Charming," You scoffed, stomach twisting. You looked up at the house. It was nice, yeah, but you could still feel your pulse quickening in your throat.

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Soulmates exists, and you want to live to see yours. And that mark was looking extra soulmate-ey right now, despite your life being threatened.

His hand was riddled in the filth that is the blood and dirt, mark on his palm shining through the carnage despite that. His mark directly resembled the jagged and wretched lines of a lightning bolt. almost glowing amongst the stains. And even though you could barely see it in the dim light, you knew what it could have been.

"That!" You spluttered, pointing at him immediately, making him flinch back suddenly. You scooted yourself back as an opportunity. "What is that?"

The man paused, his violet eyes flicking back to you in confusion once he analyzed himself. "What?"

"That, your hand," you insisted, heart aching bad in your chest. You weren't sure how well this would work, but it startled him. "I, uh...heard soulmates were the new thing. New trendy thing, you probably heard! Scientists guessed that there was a probability of it being possible."

He frowned for a minute, and you could tell from his posture that he didn't know what to say, to which he lifted his hand up to view it again. A mixture of skepticism and disgust was newfound. "Is that so."

"Yeah...yeah!" You chirped up with newfound confidence again, sitting yourself up more straight. "Pretty cool...right? Heh...it just looked familiar, and I wanted to bring it up. I mean, I have the same mark too, look!" You lifted your own hand, the desperation coherent in your exterior.

For a moment, it seemed like it got to him. You can see his eyes better when he lifted his head. He stared at your hand with a stare that was practically unreadable. The quiet air stretched around you two, and you could hear the sounds of his inner conflict growing closer.

His dark eyes held nothing there for what you responded with, and it put you in a perpetual state of limbo yet again. He let out a short and halfhearted laugh, scoffing to himself afterwards before shaking his head. He began to tread towards you yet again, this time with a lot more quickness.

"Uhh, woah, hey there!" You stammered, almost gasping once the tip of his boot met in between your legs as he leaned forward to meet with your eyes. "I'm sorry if I said anything wrong! Please...don't put me in a Hello Kitty mermaid toy or something."

"You know what I learned about scientists a long...long time ago?" He asked with more gravel to his tone, crouching down eye level to meet yours. This was the first time you were seeing all of his face, and you had to admit, he had a very bad case of severely handsome syndrome. "Whatever they want you to believe, they'll come up with shit from the moon and back to get you to give in to their agenda."

Your mouth dropped a little. "So I take it...we're not soulmates?" You laughed slightly to ebb how uncomfortable you were with him being so close to you.

He could only laugh in response, dragging it. "If we are?" He glared down at you bitterly. "You must be extremely fucking unlucky."

You may as well have been bait on a fishing hook.

You could hardly tell why your decisions led you here. In fact, you thought what you were doing was pretty smart all the considering. Who cares? This guy was trying to kill you, either way. Soulmates or not, and the only thing running through your mind right now was either to kick him in the nuts or die.

And boy, did you choose the ladder.

Despite how close the guy was, you knew that if you didn't do something right now, you'd end up parts in a trash bag behind your favorite restaurant (so fitting considering you'd be homeless tomorrow). Reeling your foot back in a desperate and pathetic attempt to save yourself, you lurched it forward.

"I tried to be civil." You crashed it into his balls with such a force that as soon as it connected, you could hear the wind be knocked out of his lungs. His eyes widened in disdain, and it had him crumbling to the floor in a broken and unsteady wheeze.

Your eyes widened in horror too, wanting to wince in pain from your own transgressions, but you couldn't wait for him to recover.

You turned on your heel and bolted, running and running as you navigated your agility with gnawing struggle. The adrenaline was running out, and your body was failing you naturally. The sound of your breath, ragged and uneven, was the only noise pounding in your ears.

Leaving yourself utterly disorient and functioning entirely off of your own will to live, the well has dried as soon as you made it clawing on the concrete steps of your apartment, your bloody and raw ankles giving way to hissing with every unbandaged step you took. The security door so far out of reach that the glint of it's silver frame was the only comfort you could find anymore.

Stumbling heavily up the last few steps, each movement sending sharp and agonizing pains through you. Vision hazy, and world almost dissolving from the swirl in your head. The edges of objects softened, but you still fought to get closer to that gap to end all of this and call the fucking police on that psycho.

You had almost reached the second floor until a pull of your arm sent you flying again. Too fearful to shout while it was happening, but loud thuds knocking your entire body into a shock as you let wind out with every blow.

Contorted in pain, throat desperate for water to make a dry yell for help, you thrashed and fought beneath him once you were down against his feet. Despite your fleeting vision, you were still intense. You tried your best to free yourself to no avail, not only was it obvious that this guy outpowered you, but you had also put so much effort into trying to escape that you were exhausted.

He met you against the cold floor, getting on his hands and knees to confine you, who was too weak anyway.

"That was your Plan C?" His eyes sharply cut into your heart, an icy and bitter stare taking you minutes to even process. "Imagine pulling a cheap ass shot like that and still losing."

After no valid response from you, he sighed before lifting his arm up, both of his legs still around your waist. With his free hand, he pulled out a cloth from his back pocket. "Last chance to say something witty before you're in deep shit. I know you thought that you were doing something there, but I think you had a better chance making those unfunny jokes."

Your eyes trembled once you caught the scent of the potent smell. It emitted like rotten eggs, and you tried clawing at his arms but he remained unfazed once the momentarily silence was over. Effortlessly removing his hand from your mouth once you attempted to gutturally scream, he replaced it with the cloth and you froze.

Don't breathe in.

Your lungs heaved in last second, as your body hadn't given you a chance to recuperate from the running. You inhaled sharply on cue, betraying your own instincts. The lack of delectable smell encompassed you, allowing your eyes to heavy. Your fight was lost.