'It is suffocating, and I try to calm myself down, yet nothing seems to work.'
One, two, three, four… sixty-one, sixty-two, sixty-three…
'God, it's warm in here,' [Name] thought to himself as he listened to the incessant ticking of his clock. [Name] sits up and gazes out of the window, looking through the slight gap of his curtains and down onto the street below; the yellow lights overhead, illuminating the dark streets, a few cars pass by, before he catches a glimpse of a hooded figure on the streets.
[Name] squinted slightly, trying to decipher who and what this hooded figure was doing – before a pit settled in his stomach as the hooded figure moved slightly, their head tilted… upwards, in the direction of [Name]'s window, and he quickly dropped back on his bed. He didn't even realise he was holding his breath.
'Who, the fuck, was that?'
[Name] didn't know, and from his previous conversations with Lucian, it seemed that the original plot itself had derailed itself completely, but it meant [Name]'s tasks and objectives for this world have also changed. Not the original gambling route, but to continue playing as one of the main antagonists of the story, whilst simultaneously trying to romance Olena. The family maid, [Name] felt wholly awkward at this revelation in his new tasks, this would also mean that if the plot went as it had originally, he'd also earn the ire of Henry, the stealth protagonist of this novel, and later die a humiliating death.
The previous anxiety about the hooded figure [Name] reaches for his phone, it seemed that for tonight, sleep was evading him, and there was nothing much he could do about it. He started scrolling on his phone, flicking mindlessly through different things – it helped, taking his mind off of whoever was stalking him. Amongst the other things, like his uni modules and the upcoming assignments once more.
At some point through the night, [Name] fell into a dreamless sleep, the pillows and duvet covering him and bringing him a strange sort of comfort he hadn't felt in a while – or maybe, it was simply the exhaustion making the normal bed more heavenly to him in that moment.
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At no point did [Name] expect to wake up in a basement, he didn't even know people still had these in their houses – yet, here he was.
There was something musty about the room he was not currently in, it seemed to have been unattended in a while, and only recently been cleaned up – the makeshift gag in his mouth was just a cloth, that was wrapped so tightly around his head, [Name] was sure he was was getting carpet burn on the corners of his mouth.
Looking around once more, he shivered slightly, there was a dampness to this room, and in the corners some bits of black mold – [Name] grimaced in disgust slightly. He tried to shift, move his limbs in any sort of way, and he couldn't the rope, tugged and bit deeper into his skin, and around his ankles too.
It seemed whoever took him, was adamant about making sure he wouldn't easily escape no matter what he tried. It was a weird predicament, considering that he hasn't tried selling anyone like in the original plot, yet here he was, already captured.
'Do I attract weird people?'
'Yes.'
[Name] jerked slightly in surprise, 'Lucian?'
'Yes, Host.'
'You've been offline for a few days.' [Name] points out almost accusatory.
'I've been–'
'Busy I am aware,' [Name] huffed slightly, 'But, now I am in this predicament, so what–'
[Name]'s gaze flickered back to the sound of the door opening, and the creaking of heavy footfalls on stairs down, and his [Eye Colour] eyes widened in shock.
At that moment, [Name] was quite thankful for the gag, because if he didn't have the gag, he would have screamed.
"Surprised?" Henry asked, smug, almost proud of himself as he took in Leo's expression – there was something about the sight of the other's tall, sturdy frame, bound and almost helpless that left a fluttery feeling in Henry's gut.
[Name] could only gape, well, gape as much as anyone could with a gag in their mouth.
"Didn't think it was me?" Henry asked quietly, satisfaction dripping off his words like excessive honey.
At the tone Leo glared at him, and the satisfaction grew in Henry as he untied the other's gag.
"Why?" Leo spat out, his tone dark and furious.
"Why?" Henry murmured, tilting his head slightly, gripping Leo's chin in a bruising grip, savouring the other's wince, "Because, I want you. Yet, you always seem non-the-wiser, and it was beginning to piss me off."
Leo grunts, before spitting out, "I don't understand."
"Of course you don't, you never seem to realise just how much people want you," Henry grits out, roughly letting go of Leo's chin, Henry continues, his tone bitter and almost resentful, "You don't seem to understand when someone wants to be more than friends with you either."
"How is that my problem?"
"It is your problem because I was fine before I met you! I was fine, I had no obsession with anyone, anything, I was healthy – then you," Henry jabs a finger into Leo's chest, "You came along and ruined my peace!"
Leo continues gaping at Henry for a moment further and goes to speak before his head snaps to the side, his cheek turning a slight red as a resounding 'slap' echoes around the basement.
"You should probably sound proof this place before you start doing anything else," Leo speaks, with a sneer as he turns back to look at Henry, a dark look in his [Eye Colour] that makes him shiver with anticipation.
"Maybe, but all things will fall into place, and soon you will fall into my hands, and understand that you need only me, and no one else. I will be everything you need," Henry murmurs, frantic, almost desperate as he stalks towards Leo, and falling to his knees before the other, a manic look in his eyes, as he digs his nails into the other's legs.
"And you will see, that I was all you ever wanted, here… waiting, before you," Henry continued rambling and murmuring, his words becoming more incoherent as his grip tightened on Leo's legs, causing the other to jerk slightly in an attempt to get him off.
"You're insane! You can't just kidnap me just because you felt like it!" Leo grits out, angry, and starts to buck in the chair, but the rope holds fast, and only serves to redden the skin around his ankles and wrists.