FORCEFUL ➴ Feitan x Reader

I. The Chocolatier

The new neighbour gave me the creeps, even as he smiled after asking for salt. My nose crinkled at the thought of someone I barely knew entering my house, but good manners would get me out of trouble. "Of course, I'll go get it in a second, wait here." I dashed to the kitchen as fast as humanly possible, hit my elbow on the door frame and was still hissing when my hand clung around the salt pitcher.  I shook off the shivers and the alarming darkness of his diminute aura when hours later he came back to return my salt pitcher. 

Maybe he was just having a rough day, my E/C gaze fell on the house next to mine as I locked the door and tightened the F/C jacket around me, after dinner it tended to get chilly. It felt good to walk and be caressed by the cool night air, that was one of the main reasons I had decided to take the night shift at my library, Chiaroscuro. I crossed the corner to look at the beautiful umber showcase of Dulce Mortem, the chocolate shop's lights were off, hiding what once would've been a lovely display of various shapes and colours. 

My reflection popped up on the glass of the shop and I couldn't help but shiver as I remembered the panic and fear in Rie's eyes as she entered the library the night before. Her round body was trembling and her once happy and warm smile gone, leaving only pursed lips as her eyes scurried through the few people that were inside Chiaroscuro. I approached her carefully and in a quick jump her tan fingers gripped my arm with too much strength, I stepped back bringing her with me to the drink machine. "What's wrong?"

"Someone... someone grabbed me when I was closing the shop, I-" Her wide orange eyes inspected the room again, "I- managed to escape and run here... I don't know what to do... Lately I felt like I was being followed... I'm scared..." My eyes widened and my S/C hand reached for the warm tea button as the other patted her back gently.

She stayed with me the rest of the night, after a long time chatting as my eyelids started to weight more and more, a great late night idea came to me. A trip. A trip would be great. 

My writing had been too bland, all the ideas I had seemed less and less creative... While so many people were waiting for another bestseller, there I was, staring at a blank page, feeling the time weight me down. The pressure was immeasurable, I needed new sights, adventure... I needed new inspiration. 

Nothing that a trip with an acquaintance wouldn't fix. She needed to get away, rest, not feel like she's being watched 24/7... So it was a great idea, at least it sounded like it late at night.

I walked her home in the morning, there were a lot of people in the streets already but something about the unfiltered horror I had seen during the previous night still clung to my mind. I walked inside my library, no walls in sight, white bookshelves filled with all kinds of books defined the space, the large marble staircase lead to the top floor had piles of books closer to the railing. There were comfortable grey chaise lounge sofas here and there, some dark glass tables and black and white cushioned chairs, it was all very castle-like but comfortable. I loved it with all my heart, even when it didn't make enough money to cover for the expenses of having it running. 

Lin's smile widened when she noticed me drawing closer to the counter, "Y/N! Today we had a lot of customers." She really liked working here, one could tell, she was always bubbly and smiling. Lin loved Chiaroscuro as much as I did, and that was one of the reasons for her to be managing it.

"Oh? That's good! Would you mind looking for someone to take my shifts for the next weeks? I'm going on a trip." She left the counter patting her clothes, grabbing her backpack to leave for the day.

"Really? Gathering information for your next book?" I bit the inside of my cheek lightly before shaking the bad thoughts away and nodding happily. "That's great! I can't wait for it! I'll open interviews tomorrow... Maybe by the end of the week we'll have a replacement. If you'd like to leave early I can ask someone to cover for you."

She wiggled her car keys out of her bag, "Sounds good, I still have to plan some things I'll text you when I'll be going." I leaned on the table as I watched her leave. I wondered whether Rie was alright... I grabbed some misplaced books and decided to start the day by organizing the shelves. 

My phone trembled in my pocket, I slid it out and unlocked it to see a text from Rie. 

[I got us tickets for tomorrow at 9! Let's start in Southworth!]

[Never been there, sounds great, I'd like to explore some old streets. Let's meet tomorrow at the airport then?]

And decided to text Lin warning her that I wouldn't be working the next day. Hopefully I wouldn't miss anything while I was gone. This eerie feeling had been haunting me since Rie walked into my library...

×××

The next day my head ached as I strolled through the airport, struggling to carry all my bags. The lack of sleep wasn't doing me any good, the loud crowds and the constant bombardment of information at this place wasn't helping either. 

"Y/N, I'm so glad you thought of going on a trip! I was really needing a distraction!" My eyes fell on orange ones, her coral hair was tied up and I forced a smile. This would be good. An adventure was all I needed, relaxation and new sights would boost my creativity.

Southworth was a good start, a big city with what I had looked up in the cab to be eerie streets, that would be great for a mystery novel. 

> Author's Note: hello loves! ~~ The set up is always so boring, I'm sorry, I'll try to pick up things  better in the next chapter.