Work Text:
Coffee. That’s all you wanted today. That was all you WISHED happened. Coffee, studying, and sleep. Maybe a phone call or two with your friends. No. Much, MUCH worse happened. Let’s take it back just a little bit, shall we?
Here you are, waiting in the line of the local coffee shop that was absolutely to die for. Maybe it’s just because you’ve had it so many times, but you only sometimes wished there was more to it. You order, and leave. Simple as that. Readjusting your backpack, you push open the doors to the library. Or er- The Librarby? They misspelled the sign so many years ago and just haven’t fixed it, you couldn’t even begin to explain it. There were some tables set up, in which you immediately went to set your stuff down on it and pulled out textbooks. Flipping through pages to catch up to your unit, you already felt bored and wanted to do something else. Maybe you could.. Use the computers for more than ethical reasons. You slowly slid your backpack away with you and stepped in front of the computer room doors, without another thought you pushed it open and stepped in a void. Oddly enough.. This isn’t a computer room! Who would’ve guessed! This is a void and you were falling, to where exactly? You didn’t know. Until you landed square on your back on concrete. You were in a bright city that had mixtures of many hues of blue and green. You also had a completely different outfit, it reminded you of being in a morbid D&D LARP. Your backpack looked the exact same though, making you curious to see if the things in it changed which to your surprise actually did. The main thing that caught your eye were the daggers that lay at the bottom of the bag, there being 2 of them. They had intercut designs in the handles that had a visible heart in them and some flower petals.
You looked more around your surroundings, you were by some type of Ferris wheel advertisement. If it weren’t for the amount of bruises you have covering your knees and the fat amount of fear, you’d actually look at it in awe and daydream about people you could take to it. Very slowly, you stood up and dragged your bag up with you before being startled back onto the ground by a voice. “Are you alri-” before the person could finish his sentence you shakily pull out the dagger and point it forward at the source of the voice. “I- I know how to stab!” The guy - if he should be called that considering he had light pink skin that got pulled back into a ponytail - stepped back from you, nervously. “Well- I was going to ask if you’re alright.” You hesitantly lowered the glorified knife. With a sigh, you shake your head. “I’m not.. Doing too well.” you’d admit to the stranger. “Do you want help?” He would hold out a hand for you to take, which after a moment of thinking about it you do. The man pulls you up and gets you up on your feet. “..If you don’t mind I would appreciate the help.” You were speaking quietly but stern, you didn’t want to be seen as weak especially by some rando that picked you up off the street. You were about to step onto the road to cross before the.. You should really get his name actually. He’d put his hand on your chest to stop you from crossing the road as someone with a syringe for a head ran by chasing a cutesy monster. You pushed his hand off of you and crossed, being more cautious than before and looking both ways.
You let him walk ahead of you and followed him to a small area. It was a shop with a sign on top of it that brightly shone “SHOESTHATAREJUSTUNTRUE.COM.” Oh hey wait you’ve been there more than a few times. It was mostly for heels and jewelry, but you were comfortable with the high tops and few necklaces that were sold. You wasted probably more than $100 in one sitting though, very convincing sellers. You followed him inside and were immediately violated by the hot pink LEDs in the room. Your eyes squinted as you adjusted to the lighting, before it immediately turned off and a normal yellowish-white lit up the room. There were glass containers that displayed very expensive wares. You looked in adoration for a moment before turning back to who you were just following. “Can I ask you a question?” The guy nodded. “What like.. Name do you go by?”
“Oh! Sorry I never said anything, I’m Vice. I’m surprised a lightner is actually.. Physically here.” You nod your head in fake understandment, “Yeahh.. I 100% know what you’re talking about.” Vice catches on your sarcasm and explains. “Lightners are much more powerful than us, darkners, and many people actually seek out lightners on purpose for their own sick reasons.” You took a step back subconsciously. “Most particularly souls, which I still don’t understand why anybody needs one. They’re quite powerful though.” This piqued your interest. “My soul? I thought our church did that just to scare us into making good choices.” Vice snickered at your response, “It’s very much a real thing, I can show you it if you want.” As they say, curiosity kills the cat. Too bad you’re trying not to get killed! “Another time..” Time for your 2nd question. “How do I get out of here exactly? Back to where I’m uh- supposed to be?”
“That would be through the dark fountain. You have to go to the castle to get there but I’m putting my bets the Queen wouldn’t just.. Let you go.” Oh. Oh no no no. You AREN’T going to just sit here, you had a whole life and family in your town. You have student debt to take care of! “I guess I’ll have a personal conversation with her, and explain that I have a life that involves not being here.” You were about to turn around and leave before Vice tugged on your bag, causing you to turn around in confusion. “Hold on, it gets pretty dangerous out there. You sure you just.. Want to hop right out there? Also uh..” Vice stops for a moment thinking of another reason to keep you here longer than you should. “..You don’t have a place to sleep and rest now do you?” He wanted to keep you safe from the outside dangers, which was a bit selfish of him, but it was sort of a valid reason. You thought about it for a moment. “Oh shit.. Oh fucking HELL.” You groaned in annoyance, just only realizing how BAD the circumstances are. Vice pursed his lips before continuing. “You could always stay with me in my apartment, it’s not pretty but you’ll be safe from.. Those guys. And anything else really." He gestured to the side, referring to the 2 monsters in a loop of cat and mouse. Admittedly, you don’t trust Vice. Not even a little bit. Sure, he’s been nice and treating you well so far but that doesn’t stop the churning in your stomach about living with him. It’s such a far leap too, what is he even thinking? You could be laying in bed one night and then wake up with a knife in your chest the next. On the other hand of this mental argument you’re having with yourself, there isn’t much of a choice is there? “I’ll check it out. This doesn’t mean a yes, but not a no.” You folded your arms together, slipping the weapon you still had in hand back into the bag. “Alright then, I can close up early for the day.” He smiled politely. “Wait what- why? It’s not that big of a deal, I can just wait for you to finish up whatever it is you do.” You were kinda hoping he would stay at the shop longer just because of the subconscious rule you made about strangers: Always try to be in a public space, no matter if it’s for a Facebook trade or a Tinder date. Or uhh… Random guy from another world that’s willing to take you to his apartment because you have no clue on where you’re at. Maybe you’re going insane. Only maybe. “I make my own calls, that’s the freedom of being my own boss!” He reaches behind a counter and grabs a pair of keys, having a collection of cute keychains that had different hues of red and pink, as well as going to turn off the lights. Vice nudged you to follow him outside as he locked the store and followed down an off-side road. Wow this looked.. Hella sketch!
It opened up to a parking lot with only about 4 cars that were almost identical to one another except for the colors on all of them. There was a honk that came from one of the vehicles which had been a maroon, really sticking to the noticeable color palette. Vice opened up the passenger door and tossed some things into the back seat before presenting it to you, “Go right on ahead.” You’d take the seat awkwardly and buckle the seatbelt as Vice would close the door and go over to his side, doing the same. Initiating the car and backing out of the small space, the car would make way towards what might be the biggest mistake you have possibly ever made. You didn’t want to do anything wrong or even dare to get comfortable which caused you to sit up straight without even leaning against the back of the chair. Vice noticed this almost immediately after the drive had started though, “If you want to adjust the seat, you can y’know? It’s not that big of a deal anyways, not like I have people casually riding with me all the time.” You simply nodded, taking the smallest bit of dignity to lean the chair back more and push it backwards. The car ride was silent for the most part, here and there Vice would ask a question about the ‘Light World’ and try to make small talk which just didn’t work with the short responses you were giving. You didn’t want to exactly go all willy nilly and give out random information to someone who might just be a secret mastermind to a pyramid scheme. Who were you kidding though? Vice was more likely to just be some guy that’s offering nothing more than kindness and appreciation. Nothing could be out of the question until you actually get to know him as well. Taking a left turn, it’d be another parking lot with a lot more cars and a few people walking around it. Not wasting any time, Vice would stop the car once a spot was found and be turned off. With another honk, the machinery locked. There were 3 large buildings that formed a triangle like shape and faced inwards, all of them having a multitude of windows and at the very bottom a singular piece of space for 2 doors. Vice brought you over to the building that was closest to the both of you, pushing open the doors and through a lobby clearing. You and Vice took a quick stop as the elevator raised and raised, which suddenly stopped and weaved through a small group of people also heading up. A long hallway was presented and 2 rows of doors, heading down said hall and stopping in front of a doorway. Vice fumbled with his keys, grabbing one and unlocking the door and turned the knob to the living room. To be fair, it wasn’t bad looking at all. In fact it was nice and could just use some cleaning for the most part. You took a quick mental note of the balcony as well. You stepped in and took it in more. Vice closed the door behind him, “Like I said, it’s not the greatest thing but I live here and make it through everyday.” You figured it wouldn’t exactly be such a bad thing to stay for a little bit. You don’t want to stay longer than needed though, it wasn’t necessary. Only a little bit. Nothing more, less is preferable. “I guess I can stay here, if it’s still on the table.” You looked at the marble counter, silently admiring the 2 candles that were on the opposite ends of each other. “Of course! This is only a one bedroom, so you can stay in there and I can sleep on the couch.” He’d open the bedroom door to show you what it’d look like. Compared to what you were expecting, it certainly wasn’t warm browns and neutral coloring from a man that looked the way he did. “Uhh.. Thank you, you really don’t have to though.”
“No, no! You’re the guest, I don’t mind at all. I know how to make my piece of junk sofa comfortable.” Been here for barely 3 hours and a man has offered you his entire bedroom, really makes you wonder what would happen if you dare make an OnlyFans account. “..Alright then.” You actually wouldn’t mind a little bit of sleep, Vice has been nice enough to provide you all of these things yet you’re just not ready to give in. “Well, I’m going to quickly change and leave you to it.” He slipped into the room and grabbed a pair of clothes off the floor and headed into the bathroom. While Vice was doing that, you silently stared at the large bed. You’re still bewildered at what this world was or even the ‘culture’ was, if that’s the right word to use in this situation. Wait. Didn’t you have your phone in your pocket? You frantically started patting yourself down for a pocket and lo and behold..
…
Your device was crushed from the fall. You felt yourself shake, to stop the feeling of crying, you put it in your backpack. You sat it down right next to the bed and took a seat on it. It was comfortable, it still made you feel bad that you’re taking the bedroom though. Vice would come back, now having his hair down and a tank top with sweats, and check in on you. “Hey, everything still ok?” You nodded, decidedly not telling him about your phone and moving on. “I’m fine for the most part, my back actually hurts a lot though..” Vice hummed in response, “I can get you some pain killers or something to eat.”
“That’d be nice, thank you.” You gave a weak smile, watching him leave into the kitchen. It didn’t take long for Vice to come back with a glass of water and 2 pills, setting both on the dresser. “I’ll work on something for an early dinner.”
“Wait huh-? What time is it?” You asked. “Almost 5:30, you’ve been here for a little bit.” Vice sighed, “I’ll let you rest in the meanwhile. Take it easy, you can eat in here as well.” He would head back into the kitchen and small clanks of pans could be heard as you took the cup and pills. Hesitantly, you placed one in your mouth and swallowed it as you took a large sip of the water and did the same process with the next. Waiting for the pain to start leaving your body, you laid down and got yourself comfortable by also tucking a pillow between your legs. You weren’t necessarily tired but you didn’t want to do anything and were exhausted. You went to shut your eyes, taking in the ambience of even the smallest things: Car honks, shouting from a downstairs neighbor, the soft sizzle of what Vice was cooking.. Speaking of Vice, he had a million different thoughts going through his head. Most of which were selfish, wanting to keep you living with him and taking care of you, but he only wanted the best for you. Vice hasn’t even met a lightner physically, even during work the people he saw weren’t really there. He can’t tell if he was getting ahead of himself or not but his cheeks warmed at the thought of you sleeping in his own bed. Vice left the eggs cooking by themselves for a moment as he grabbed out 2 plates and sat them on the counter directly beside him. With skilled practice, he split up the food evenly. It’s a simple dinner; eggs, bacon, and potatoes, but it was good enough for the night. Sprinkling a bit of pepper onto both plates, he kept one on the counter and came back to the bedroom to present the food to you. Vice saw you laid down, patting your shoulder. “Food is done.” You let out a low groan, sitting up and looking at the food that was being handed to you along with a fork. You took it from him politely, “Thanks.” He nodded, “Of course, do you need anything else or will you be okay for the night?” You let out a small mhm and took a bite as Vice left once again. The food was pretty good, you finished it quickly in silence. You’d take a step out from the bedroom and notice for the first time a photo that was hung right next to the doorframe. It had a signature that was so loopy you could barely read it, only getting the first letter: S. There was a date in the corner as well, xx/xx/1997. In the photo itself, it was a group photo with Vice and 4 other people that looked similar to him with different color variations. Without another thought, you headed into the kitchen and started to rinse off your plate and fork. You sat the duo in the sink and glanced for something to dry off your hands, grabbing a few paper towels and tossing them into the garbage. You took a peek into the living room, Vice was distracted watching a movie and wrapped in a blanket as he ate more slowly. It was sort of a cute sight, but you got rid of the thought quickly and went back into the room.
You’d close the door and go back to laying down. There really wasn’t much to do, but you stood by the large window on the side of the room and admired the view. There were roads that overlapped one another and the most noticeable thing was the giant, pulsing light in the back of everything else. It looked gorgeous, something about it though.. It felt ominous and unnerving, like it had importance larger than you could ever think. You let out a yawn and took it as your cue to start sleeping. You tossed the layers of blankets and laid down in them, the warmth already encapsulating you. Already about to fall asleep you’d have one more thought before knocking out. And that maybe.. Just maybe tomorrow you'll wake up from this nightmare..