Michael Afton x Reader

ghosts of the past don't haunt the innocent

TW: mentions of blood and gore

"are you ok?" you call out to the kid instinctively, but then almost scream once you get a better look at him. there's blood dripping from his head, matting his hair, covering half his face and mixing with the tears running down his cheeks. he looks sickly and frail, like he hasn't eaten or slept in weeks. although terrified, you run towards him, but as soon as you move closer, he disappears. you're now breathing heavily, feeling full of adrenaline as you're understandably spooked. it was just a hallucination- I slept horribly last night and now my mind is playing tricks on me, thats all. for a second you consider the idea that he might've been a ghost, but then shake your head and dismiss that idea entirely. 

ghosts aren't real, it was just a figment of my imagination. still, it upset you. other than looking slightly see-through, it was a realistic hallucination. the blood dripping down his face was so real you felt like you might be sick just picturing him. you try to shake the picture from your head and get back to work. you take a closer inspection of the door and see that there are scratch marks on it and the surrounding walls. it has to be an animal, but you have no idea what kind. you walk back inside and go to Henry's office to let him know what you found out. the door is closed and locked, so you knock and wait for him to open it. after a minute, he let's you in.

"I found some weird scratches on the outside of the fire door, but I couldn't find the animal that made them, but there were some trash bags by the door, that's probably what attracted it." you tell him after walking inside. he sits back down at his desk, and nods.

"trash does attract a lot of wild animals, there usually isn't anything dangerous that comes into town, but I'll make sure all trash is taken care of properly. is there anything else?"

you consider telling him about the hallucination, but decide against it. I don't want him to think I'm crazy. or stupid. Henry then dismisses you, and you walk back to your office and spend the rest of the day finishing your normal tasks. still, you can't shake the boy from your head. the image was so gruesome and you want to forget it but can't, like a little kid having a nightmare they can't wake themselves up from.

the rest of the day feels like a slow blur, and when closing time finally arrives you feel relieved, although the disturbing crying boy from earlier still feels fresh in your mind. wanting to talk to someone to distract yourself, you go to find Michael. he's still sitting at his desk in parts and service, finishing up the circuit board from yesterday. he smiles when he sees you.

"hey y/n! it's good to see you, but I really need to finish this circuit board, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't make out with me." he says jokingly, making you smile as well.

"I'll try to refrain myself." you say, tired. Michael looks up at you with a concerned expression. "are you alright?" he asks. god, he can read me like a book.

"yeah, it's just been a long day." you respond, faking a happy expression. he smiles back at you, but you can tell he's still concerned.

"why don't you come over to my place tonight, it's a short walk from here." he offers as he finishes his project and stands up. you nod your head yes, knowing you'll have nightmares about what you saw if you go home alone. Michael quickly grabs his things, then takes your hand and the two of you walk to his home.

it's in the same general direction as your apartment, and you realize you live extremely close to him. he lives in a house in the older part of town, while you live in an apartment complex that was built sometime in the last 10 years. his house is small, but beautiful- its a two story house neatly tucked in a row of other houses just like his, and the only exterior difference between his and any other one is that each house is painted a different color.

he unlocks the door and lets you in first, and you're greeted by an orange cat sitting on a coffee table that runs away when it sees you.

"you're not allergic, are you?" Michael asks.

"no, not to cats." you tell him. he nods his head and walks into the kitchen. "I have some soup, if you're hungry." he says as he takes a pot out of the fridge.

"I love soup!" you reply excitedly and he giggles. soon, the two of you are sitting on his couch, watching TV and eating soup. he notices you're shivering from either cold or fear you're not sure, and puts his arm around you. grateful, you put down the empty soup bowl and move closer to him, and end up resting your head on his side. you can feel him breathing in and out and finally relax. he gently strokes your head and you curl as close to him as possible and fall asleep.

-Michael's POV-

fuck, she's so adorable when she's asleep. he thinks as he strokes your hair. I haven't felt this happy with someone in years... not since the accident. Michael remembers the event quite cleary- always taking the anger bottled up inside him from his father's abuse on his younger brother, but never taking it too far until that one day, that one fucking day. Evan's blood was quite literally on his hands, and that marked the very last day he ever felt deserving of love. for years, Michael blamed himself for what had happened, he wished it had been himself instead of Evan, he knew he deserved that no matter what Henry or any ex-lover told him. but none of that mattered now. now he was at peace, and Michael knew all that mattered now was him and y/n, nothing else. I finally deserve this, he thought as he too fell asleep.

a/n: I'm lowkey giving up on trying to stick with the lore, enjoy some upcoming afton angst yall.

word count: 1044