our love story, my insanity || ticci toby x gn!reader

chapter one: friends with stitches

The cold wind was blowing your hair everywhere as you tried quickening your pace. You'd just finished your shift and had been walking home when you realised how long this path suddenly seemed to be. It was the only way to get home, through this barely illuminated alleyway. It was really small, the width could have fit just two people walking next to each other, but the length was quite long. You always got chills when you walked here, having been thinking about how almost nobody ever uses and nobody would hear a thing if something were to have happened. It was silent. Too silent. You swallowed and moved your feet, but with every step you took your legs seemed to feel heavier. You hadn't been able to take any more weight, thus decided to sit down and took a break. Your back had been resting against a fence, it felt as if it was judging you, watching as you had taken out your phone, having been desperate for more lightning. Your bare back stung against the metal and, on top of that you also still felt watched. Just as the flash had decided to flick open, you felt a fluid running down your spine. You had gotten up quickly and shone your light on the fence, which lead you to the realisation that, only on the place you'd been resting at, was there a sharp piece of metal sticking out. In horror, you'd put up your hand to your back - you could feel the wound, it was a displeasure to have felt your pain like that and, when you'd pulled back your hand it had been covered in blood. 'What the fuck,' you whispered, all thoughts having left your head once you'd seen that figure behind a tree. As the thing ever-so-slowly circled around the trunk of nature, you had started backing away, towards the fence again. The creature looked like a shadow, it was foggy and didn't seem to have had any facial features of some sort and, when you looked for them too long at a time, your vision would have started to blurry and you'd hear a high-pitched noise. Having paid attention only to that thing and what it did to your mind, you'd been startled to find yourself having stepped right against the fence. And though, due to the adrenaline you hadn't realised at first, you'd been even more startled to find the back of your leg had been pushed against the sharp metal, and it hurt.The blood once again, had been rushing down your leg and everything now was spinning. Vaguely, you took in how you fell to your knees, barely having felt how you ripped open your skin even more whilst having done so. At that very moment, the piercing sounds faded to the background, instead having made place for a soft voice now. You couldn't make up what it said, no matter how hard you had tried concentrating. Your eyelids had shot open once you felt something resting on your shoulder - it seemed to be a hand, or at least had the shape of one. The world seemed out of place for mere moments, before you had been able to see its glory again. You could see how you had been collapsed onto the harsh pavement beneath and finally, you had been able to make out what the voice was saying and what figure it belonged to. It was a person, a boy. His brown eyes held a look of worry in them as he spoke: 'I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you! Please tell me you're okay- I mean, not that you aren't allowed to not be, you can feel things, I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked that! God sorry I'm talking I shouldn't be why am I talking, just- are you okay? Are you hurt?'You had tried to tell this person you weren't, tried to ask him who he was and why he'd been hiding behind a tree, but your throat didn't seem to have felt the need to cooperate.All you had been able to get yourself to do was to smile softly because, as confused as you had been, the poor guy just seemed a tad bit more out of it.'You smiled! Why did you smile? Is all good or is it not? Can you not talk? Can you- can you move your fingers? Please do! Alright that was- yeah, you moved your hand, okay! So, okay, one finger up for a yes and two for no, got it?'You had nodded your head in a weak manner, and he'd immediately asked if you were okay.Two fingers.He then had asked you if you were in physical pain.One finger.He asked if you were able to pinpoint where you had been in pain.One finger, and a hand towards your back and down to your leg, just under the knee.'Oh that is not looking good, that is, oh god- how did that happen?'Your hand disappeared behind you, pointed towards the fence. 'Did you climb that fence? That's really dumb why'd you-'You had grabbed the other person's hand in an attempt to get his attention, which you had succeeded in quickly.You shook your head no and looked behind you, to where that sharp piece of metal should have been, but it wasn't there so you couldn't have shown it to him.Why wasn't it there anymore?You clearly had hurt yourself with it and were carrying the consequences of it.So why and how had you not been able to point it?'No? What happened? Can you- oh wait you can't talk. Well now what? Can you- do you uhm- I don't know, I don't know- wait I do, I have got a friend, he can- he's a nurse, he can make you better! You can, you can stay with us and then go home! No pressure, I mean, yes pressure to your wounds but no pressure to- to go! You can do whatever, I mean, I'm a stranger ooh, stranger danger, I would understand if you refuse, I could also just leave you alone, I'm probably scaring you off, aren't I? God I'm so sorry I haven't talked to strangers in a while, I'm not allowed to, orders from above, but you'd know! I'm making an exception for you because you're hurt and- oh yes! The finger system, do you wanna go with me? That's what I was gonna ask but I got distracted so I didn't immediately ask and now it's happening again, just do the fingers,' said the strange boy.You had put up one finger, because what could you have lost?The answer was a lot.Immediately, the stranger asked you if you'd be okay with having your sight taken away by means of the bandana that had been around his arm, because the location of where you would've been headed was highly confidential.You nodded your head, maybe this guy was a celebrity, or perhaps his friend was a popular doctor.Whatever the reason behind it had been, you didn't think it'd been weird or creepy, just friendly of this stranger.Which was, even for that naive person that was you, odd.Yes, you had always been one to trust people easily, maybe a little too easy, but never before this quickly: you could've been tricked into horrible things, but you had trusted this person talking to you and he also seemed to trust you.This could've been the end of you, but it wasn't.You, after the stranger had helped put on your 'blindfold' had safely arrived at a mansion, as you'd been able to make out once you- could take off the bandana.The brunette refused to put you down and thus, had still been carrying you on his back when, out of the purple double doors appeared another boy's face.'Thank god it is you, Ben,' said the boy whose back you were positioned on.The new boy had blonde hair, it was messy and you had caught yourself wondering how long it'd been since he last washed it.Whilst you took in the mysterious boy's features and, wondered if this kid was the one that would help you, you had picked up a bit of the conversation the two strangers held.'I do not care that this person is hurt, if we let this person in they aren't going to be the only one that got attacked here,' the blonde boy had argued.Wait, attacked?What had he meant by that, were you attacked?By who?The brunette?No, that wasn't possible, he'd been helping you, not hurting you.Why would he have decided to help you if he was the reason you were hurt?No, this couldn't have been.It wasn't him, you'd been sure of it.'I'll take all the responsibility, Ben, just let us in they obviously need help,' said the other stranger loudly, having shut down that one thought in your mind that he was the one who had hurt you.And though these words were comforting, you had felt yourself flinch just slightly at the sudden change of tone that'd held place.'Don't raise your voice, it scares your lover,' the boy, seemingly named Ben had said, and his voice sounded teasing, but if you'd heard that correctly it was softer, more caring now.'Shut up and let us in will you,' the brunette's tone had been demanding, he probably hadn't found the joke all that funny, but quietly apologised to you.He was lucky the kid hadn't heard him, you thought, because from what you'd seen he probably would have been teased for it.'Fine.'Inside, the stranger had warned you about his friends, some of them looked inhumane, and he had told you that, whatever it was you would do, not to mention it.One of those friends, you quickly had realised was that one friend was meant to take care of you and the wounds you'd developed.It was yet another male, he had seemed to be a bit older than your brunette friend, and his skin had a grey-ish glance to it.Its face was covered by a blue mask which the creature had immediately pulled down a bit more at the sight of you, having been carried inside by its friend.'Food,' it had whispered, confused and in a questioning manner.'Why did you bring a strange human?'A sigh before: 'Jack, don't go and interrogate me right now and just help this person, okay? Friend, not just a normal human, my friend! If you hurt them you are dead, if you do not help us you are dead. Do not play with me, got it?'The creature sighed, mumbling a question to which the answer had been; 'leg and back, LJ.''Got it. Human, i'll stop the bleeding and then I'll stitch it up. I can't numb your body because I used it all on another human but you should be able to handle it.''Is that okay for you,' the brunette softly asked.'Ooh baby are you strong enough baby? You're my little baby boo, precious little baby,' the creature named Jack, according to your friend had mocked him.The male pushed the other away whilst rolling his eyes, which had made you chuckle.The pair turned towards you, which in return had made you look down and slowly nod.'What, now you're shy?''Jack come on-''I'm not shy! Besides, that's a weird word. I just don't like being looked at, especially not by strangers,' you spoke.''If only they knew-''We can change that stranger part! Also, nice to hear you got your voice back, i'm glad to hear that! But yes, strangers, change that, we can get to know each other while you're being taken care of! I would love to get to know you, what's your name?'A smile had formed on your face: 'Y/N. What's yours? You told me the names of people i saw here but I never catched yours.''Sit right here,' Jack told you, and you'd done as you got told to do so, sitting down on the examination bed that had been in front of you.'I didn't tell you? I'm so sorry, I must have forgotten! My name is Toby!'You had stayed silent for a while, only having nodded to his response, before: 'Toby. That fits you, it's gentle and child-like. Speaking of, what is your age?'Jack came back with some towels and silently lifted your leg up, before having put one of said towels around your limb so it would stop the blood that was running out of your wound even quicker.The creature had stepped behind you and also put pressure on the wound on your back, resting his hand that had been covered with gloves on the towel beneath it.'I am 19 years old, what is your age Y/N?''I'm 18! You look younger than me, in my opinion.'Toby smiled at that statement and, even though he had tried to keep his face like that, it was obvious, the way his facial expressions had changed when you'd asked another question.'How did you do that, back in the woods? How'd you make me see stuff and hurt my head,' was said question.'Poor Y/N must be so confused,' Jack suddenly spoke, 'Toby didn't do anything, nothing happened in those woods. You're not hurt.'Your head snapped towards Toby, the one person you trusted here: 'I'm not?''Oh, you're not, I think that food poisoning really messed with your head, mate.''I'm not hurt,' did you agree.'What were you doing in those woods in the first place,' asked Toby.'I was walking home from work. I always use that path!'Ooh what do you do for a living,' Jack decided to join in.'I work as a barista. It's hard to make ends meet sometimes, especially since i'm still a student, too, but I love what i do!'Whilst Jack had mumbled something about you having been ready for the stitches, Toby spoke: 'I think that's the most important part of- of having a job and pursuing that career: love and passion for it! Because at the end of the day yes, you may get paid a lot, but if you go to work reluctantly, then I hope you do realise it's for the rest of your days. While, if you enjoy what you do and your job makes you happy, then i would think you're settled for life and, unrelated to that, you're probably putting in more effort thus is there a better outcome. Because i don't know about you but i work faster when i like the thing i'm doing!''Exactly! I'd rather work with the most amazing people on earth than the richest! Oh speaking of, do you have a job,' you had asked toby.'Yes! I mean, no! I mean, it's complicated i must keep it a secret. You can't know, why do you ask? Is there something wrong? I didn't do anything, or did i? No i didn't, what-''Woah there calm down it was just a question. You know you don't have to respond to those, right?'Toby stayed quiet, before having nodded softly: it was the first time someone had been so respecting of his boundaries and he hadn't known how to respond to that.Just as you had been meaning to ask another question, EJ once again had come back to you, this time with something that could have passed as a half-round needle and some thread. The sight of this had been beyond terrifying to you, which you guessed was obvious as Toby had been quick to pat you on the shoulder, mumbling a soft 'it'll be okay, i promise.''Yeah don't worry too much little one, I've done this many times before and the worst that ever happened was a certain someone passed out because of fear and, it might hurt a little but if your friend here can handle it you can too, I'm sure of it!'You had laughed at the way it'd looked at Toby whilst talking about the passed out person.'Hey what's that supposed to mean Jack,' Toby complained, unknowing to the fact his friend had hinted it'd been him who had passed out.'Nothing, i promise. You keep the conversation going bud,' Jack chuckled.'If you say so, bud.'Just as the brunette spoke those words, you'd felt an intense sting at your back - it hurt and, god how you'd wanted to cry and scream and show in how much pain you were but you didn't, and you couldn't.You felt you had to stay strong, even if nobody would've said anything about it.'Sorry, should i tell you when it's going in next time?'It had stayed silent for a while.'No, that's even more stressful. Just wasn't prepared, is all. Can someone- please keep me distracted though,' you'd softly asked.'Ofcourse! I'll do it! I love talking, but you probably noticed that already, didn't you? Ofcourse you did, you're very smart! I wonder what you do in your free time, do you do smart people stuff?''I don't really know what falls under the category smart people stuff, or what you even mean by it, but i can tell you what i do in my free time, so you can be the judge of that. I like reading. I spend most of my time in the coffee shop i work at, which is also a library, if you focus only on the contents of stuff there and not what you'd deem a typical library: there are books and places to sit, plus there's cofee and plants! I also like journaling, both in a scrap-book and a blog on the internet and, that pretty much is all. Reading, journaling and going on walks is about all i really do in a day. Well, then there's also school and work but i don't suppose that goes under free time, does it now?''You seem passionate about these things, i can appreciate that. What kinds of books do you read, if you don't mind me asking,' said jack.'English literature and poems,' you had answered without missing a beat, 'I think it's very interesting, especially in older writing, how the authors all play with words, shape them to their liking and are able to make such simple, yet never before seen art.''You have a way of playing with your words too. It's really cool, you talk so chique,' Toby's attempt at the French accent had made the three of you laugh and, though you'd laughed the comment off you could only admit to yourself how much it had touched you, what the older boy said.'Lay down slowly, we don't need those stitches getting loosened already. You, Toby, are very carefully going to hold up Y/N's leg for me, so i can easily access the wound, got it?''Aye-aye captain,' said toby, immediately having gotten to doing what he had been told to do so. 'Who owns this place and do you all live here? How many people do you live with? Also, isn't that Ben guy just a kid? Are you all family?''That's a lot of asks in one sentence, typical Toby move! Good job Y/N, way to go i'm proud! Our boss owns this place, we all work for him and live under his roof. We live with a lot of people, I lose count sometimes. Ben isn't a kid, he's been here longer than you exist, it's just an illusion! And we're not family by blood but we're so close, most of the time at least, that it's started to feel like a family! It's nice here, I love the people. Yes that includes you, my sweet little jack! Come and give me a hug!'At the realisation of what had been about to happen, Jack backed away instantly: 'touch me and Y/N isn't the only one who'll be needing stitches Tobias!'Jeez, they really seem to like threatening eachother here.Toby's eyes had widened and, for a second it looked like he was genuinely scared, but he'd been quick to shut that thought down by having burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.'You are so lucky I'd finished your stitches before stepping away,' said Jack.'I guess I really am lucky,' you had agreed with the odd creature.You had only known these strangers for, no longer than about three hours but you already felt safer with them than you ever have before. Something had drawn you towards this odd bunch of people and, you honestly believed you would grow to love these people even more if you'd been given the chance to stay.You weren't ready to go home yet, because this was a home more than your home.