Take My Hand | KNJ ONE-SHOTS & IMAGINES

Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites *18+*

You wake up with a knot in your stomach and a weight on your chest. You try to move, but your body seems to be paralyzed. You try to speak, but your mouth remains frozen shut. Oh, fuck. Is this what they call sleep paralysis?

Suddenly a shadow looms over you, inches from your face. Your heart skips a beat and tears fill your eyes, spilling down your cheeks. This has to be a dream, you think to yourself. It has to be!!

Something cold brushes against your cheek and you shudder. Your heart feels like it's going to beat right out of your chest.

"Hey, are you okay?" A soft, gentle voice hits your ears. "A–ah, you're crying... Oh, no; please don't cry. I–I'll stop it, okay? I–I'll give you back your movement, okay? Please don't be scared, don't be scared...!"

A soft clap sounds, and all at once you're able to move again. You let out a wild, ear-splitting scream. The lights switch on, and you catch sight of a figure that was definitely not in your room before you fell asleep. Their back is to you, and it seems like they're trying desperately to make themselves small as if to avoid detection.

"I–I see you!" you say, quickly sitting up and drawing your comforter around yourself as if it will serve as some sort of shield. "I can totally see you, so there's no use hiding!" You look around frantically for a weapon of some kind to use against this intruder. Unfortunately, the only things you have nearby are pillows. You quickly grab one and lob it at the stranger.

The stranger flinches, slowly turning to face you. They have their hands up, their gaze cast down. "I'm sorry," he murmurs. "I was just doing my job..."

"Oh, your job is scaring the shit out of people?" you scoff. "How did you even get in here?"

"Well, it's kind of a long story. My brother was assigned to you first, but he passed you on to me 'cause... 'cause he wanted me to prove that I could be a good and proper demon." When he raises his head to look at you, you suck in a breath. Holy shit. He's gorgeous! His small face is accentuated by a pair of full lips and kind eyes. "I'm very sorry I scared you."

He looks remorseful; the way he's wringing his hands and biting his lip are proof of this. You find your earlier fear slowly ebbing away as you study him. "Why me?" you ask. "Did I do something bad?" It seems like a reasonable enough thought: only people who've done horrible things would get visited by a demon, right?

"Hmm?" the demon cocks his head. "No; that's not how it works. All humans, the good and the bad ones, are given to demons as charges. Depending on the demon, we feed on different energies that come from our human charges. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah," you reply slowly. "I guess so. What kind of demon are you?"

"I'm an incubus. My brothers are sleep paralysis demons, though. They're the best in their class. They always place first and second during our exams. They're really great." the demon smiles fondly, pride clearly evident in his voice.

"What does an incubus feed on?" you ask.

"A–ah," he stammers, his face flushing. "Incubi are known for satiating themselves through... sexual energy."

"Hold on," you say, shaking your head. "How do you...y'know, feed?" Ugh, saying it in that way makes you feel strange, like a piece of meat; nothing more than fodder. "Are you gonna...bite me or something?"

"N–no," he says, his face flushing even further. "If I were to feed, we'd have to, um..." He trails off, biting his lip. After a moment, he shakes his head. "We won't do that, though! So you don't have to worry at all! You can trust me."

"Pfft," you scoff. "Yeah, right. But... There's one thing I'm not understanding."

"What's that?" the demon asks. "I'll try my best to explain anything you don't get."