Fill in the Blanks (Read description)

Chapter three

Blank looked around at the large amounts of food products that were being displayed. He didn’t know this much food even existed. The only time Blank was allowed outside was if an Ego was taking him out to go exploring or Ethan wanted someone to talk to while going on a walk. He wasn’t allowed out often mainly because he didn’t want to and because Ethan was worried that Blank might be in danger if he left since he didn’t exactly look human but the most Blank seemed to get right now were glares or people commenting on his appearance but not saying it to his face.

He was following King and Jackie-boy into an isle mainly containing spreads which Blank had a feeling he knew why he was there. They stopped at the Peanut butter. Of course they did. Jackie-boy crossed his arms. Blank watched as Jackie-boy man walked off into another isle. He probably had better things to do then entertain the man child. Blank stared up at the mass amounts of Peanut butter. Why would anyone want this much peanut butter or even sell this much? Not like Blank or any of Ethan’s egos could even eat it.

King tried to reach the top shelf, since that’s where the better quality Peanut butter was. Blank wanted to tell King that Peanut butter was more likely to attract dogs more so than squirrels but he wasn’t going to ruin Kings fun. Blank stopped and started watching King struggle but there wasn’t much Blank could do. He was barely taller than King. Blank started to think about ways to help that wouldn’t involve talking to people. But then his thoughts started to wander.

What if they are just taking pity on me?

The only reason they are taking letting you following them is because they are pitying you.

You think they’d want to be friends with a demon?

What if you just did what Dark and Anti do by hurting people.

Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do? Hurt people.

Blanks breathing became heavy. He didn’t even notice that his body was glitching in and out. Yeah, it was painful but the small amount physical pain wouldn’t stop the constant stream of thoughts. He didn’t want to hurt people. He didn’t want to be lonely. He wanted friends. He wanted to be okay. So why was it so hard to be okay?

He jumped when he felt as if he was being hugged. He looked to see King trying to hug what of Blank was physically there. He wasn’t sure what to do. It felt strangely nice to be hugged. He felt himself calm down. Just enough to stay in one place. King let go after a minute or two of the hug. Blanks breathing was still off but he felt much better than before. King took a few steps back to give Blank some room.

“What happened?” King asked.

Blank didn’t know how to answer but eventually figured out how to speak. “I think I was having bad thoughts.”

King frowned slightly and dug through his cape to find something before handing Blank a fidget toy. It was a one of the ones that you squish so it seemed more like a stress ball than a fidget. It was in the shape of star which was funny to Blank since he didn’t think King kept fidgets themed on space with him. Blank wasn’t a huge fan of space since all it did was remind him of how tiny the earth is compared to everything else. He squished the toy and it slowly returned to its normal shape.

“...Thanks, King. I’m sorry for acting like this...” Blank looked at King while he talked.

“Why are you apologising? It’s not your fault.” King went back to looking at the Peanut butter while talking.

Blank slowly nodded. It wasn’t his fault. He probably needed to see someone about this but neither Dr. Ipiler or Dr. Sneeplestein had actual medical licenses despite having the title of ‘doctor’. He got close to King and picked him up to help. King grabbed the closest jar and got lowered to his feet. Blank let go of him and backed away slightly. He smiled at King and started walking. King followed beside, looking around at the isles until he got distracted and ran over to an isle full of candy. It caught Blank off guard. He had never seen anyone run so fast. He watched as King grabbed a few bags off the shelves which did give Blank enough time to catch up. He was amazed by the amount of candy just in this one section.

“Can we get some?!” King asked, looking at Blank with pleading eyes.

Blank shrugged. He didn’t know. Besides, King was a fully grown man that potentially had money. Blank walked a  bit further in the candy section and grabbed a bag of ‘Sour Patch kids’. King looked over and smiled slightly. Blank felt confused but shrugged and held the bag in his hands, giving King back the fidget. King stopped and grabbed a bag of marshmallows before holding out the bag.
“Have you ever had toasted marshmallows before?” King grinned at him after questioning him.
Blank shook his head. King looked shocked. Blank felt confused, why was this shocking? Blank did have marshmallows in his old house but Blank was unsure of the food especially since he wasn’t sure if Mad Mike had tampered with it so he never tried it and he wasn’t sure if he could get sick from food poisoning because of his species. He tilted his head as he looked at the bag.

“We can toast Marshmallows at Marks sometime! I’ll be sure to save these until then. If Wilford doesn’t find them...” King muttered the last part.

“What’s this about me not finding something?” A voice can from behind King.

King jumped and looked around to see Wilford standing behind him. Even Blank was unsure of how Wilford got there. King hid the packet of marshmallows behind his back quickly. Wilford looked between King and Blank. Before making direct eye contact with Blank. Blank stiffened as Wilford got close to him then paced around him in a way that made it seem like he was studying him. Wilford eventually stopped in front of the demon once again.

“Would you be Interested in an interview, my blue haired friend?” Wilford asked.

Before Blank could even say anything, Wilford had already gotten out a calendar, along with a pen. He flipped through the pages before looking at him.

“Don’t bother. I’ll book you in. Are you available for the 5th of April 2022?” He questioned, tapping on the calendar.

Blank wanted to say something. He had no idea what was going on but figured Wilford wouldn’t let him speak. So, he just nodded. Not that Blank even wanted to talk. He didn’t like talking too much and preferred to be quiet.

Wilford nodded and wrote something on the calendar. “Great! Come to the house around that time and we’ll get ready.”

Wilford closed the calendar before walking off. He did stop when he saw a bag on the shelf and grabbed it before continuing his walk. King looked at Blank and sighed. Blank looked back and gave a shrug. He felt confused but didn’t really question Wilford since that would just make him more confused.

“...Are demons stab-proof?” King made eye contact with Blank while talking.

“I’m not sure and I don’t know if I want to find out...” Blank replied.

“I would recommend find a gun or knife proof vest before the interview... or find out if you are stab-proof.” King suggested.

Blank gave a nod. “Noted.”

He watched as King pulled the bag from behind his back and began walking off again. Blank followed behind, not wanting to be left alone. He saw Jackie-boy man in an isle close by. He wasn’t quite sure what he was looking fr but Blank didn’t really want to approach him. He made sure to maintain pace with King. He just followed what King was doing. He seemed to know his way around.

It took a bit for them to get everything they wanted. Blank got a bottle of iced coffee and the bag of Sour Patch kids. Earlier, when Blank had asked what Monster was when he saw it on the shelf, King had said it was an energy drink and said Blank could get it but Blank wasn’t sure if Dark would allow him to have it.

Now, King and Blank were sat on a bench. Well, it was more two chairs stuck together but it worked as a bench. Blank had pulled his knees up to his chest with one arm keeping him from slipping off. He had the bag of Sour candy rested near his knees. He chewed on the candy before swallowing. He considered dumping the whole bag in his mouth but that would make a mess. King was sat beside him. He sat like a regular person despite apparently being a king, but Blank wasn’t sure on if it was an actual title or just his name. If it was a title then what was his real name? Blank just considered it to be his real name and left it at that. King gave Blank a confused look after a few minutes of silence.

“Why do you sit like that?” King pointed to the way Blank was sitting.

Blank finished chewing on the candy in his mouth and swallowed before answering. “It’s comfortable to me.”

King gave a nod and went back to what he was doing. Blank spotted Dark and Anti coming in their direction. For once, he didn’t really care if they saw him. He was having fun and that’s what mattered. He set the bag to his side and took a sip of the iced coffee. He did feel a minor sugar rush starting but didn’t notice. As Anti and Dark walked by, Dark looked directly at Blank and stop walking.

“What are you doing?” Dark put his hands behind his back to seem more intimidating.

Blank shrugged and grabbed a Sour Patch kid from the bag and ate it before offering one to Dark. Dark seemed a bit caught off guard but shook his head. Blank instead gave the gummy to King, who happily ate it. Dark glared at King for a moment before walking off.

“Have fun with your friend, Blank.” Dark said as he went back to following Anti.

Blank nodded and went back to what he was doing. He looked back at King to see him attempting to open something but he couldn’t make out what it was. He held out a hand in an attempt to help but King shook his head. He nodded and allowed for King to do his own thing. He wasn’t going to be in charge of an adult man’s life.

He took another sip of iced coffee. It tasted alright. Not amazing but not awful either. He got up and dusted off his shirt before looking back to King. He put the bag of candy and the iced coffee into the bag.

“I might have to follow Dark and Anti, just in case they need me for something.” Blank said.
King nodded before pulling his phone. He seemed to open an app and handed it to Blank.
“If you want, we can stay in contact with each other. You seem nice and I want to be friends.” King smiled.

Blanks heart almost skipped a beat in excitement. The only people he was in contact with was mainly the Egos that Ethan had but now he finally had someone else to talk to. He did have more egos to talk too before when he still lived at Ethans but, he hadn’t seen them recently. As if they disappeared sometime near the end of 2021. He missed talking to those guys, except for one of them. One of them terrified Blank slightly.

He forced himself out of those thoughts and went back to the task at hand.
He grabbed his phone from his bag, opened the same app as King and typed in his phone number into Kings phone before typing Kings number in. He handed King back his phone and waved before walking off. King waved back. Blank smiled slightly. He finally felt as if he had a genuine connection with someone. A person he had met a few hours ago no less.

He eventually found Dark and Anti in the middle of store that Blank didn’t expect. It was a store full of toys. He never would have expected the two most evil people, according to the other egos, to be in a store designed for children. He watched as Dark grabbed something off the shelf and looked towards Anti.

“Do you think he would like this?” Dark asked.

Blank noticed that his aura mainly blue compared to the half blue and half red he was used to.

“I don’t know the kid! Your choice I guess.” Anti responded.

Dark stared at the item for a few minutes before letting out a sigh.

“I’ll get it.” He said before wandering off to find something else.

Blank felt confused. What was Dark doing? Why get something from this store? He kept wondering what was going on. Taking a deep breath, he decided to leave slowly and wait outside the store for Dark and Anti. If they wanted him then they could text him.

He waited outside the store, headphones on and listening to a playlist he had made a while ago. It was oddly comforting to the demon. He closed his eyes to try and relax further. His hands were in his pockets and just stood there.  Not bothering anyone. He felt his arm get tugged by something cold before having something placed in his hands. He opened an eye to see a stuffed pumpkin toy. It felt weighted. He opened the other eye before sliding his headphones off. He looked up to see Dark standing there, the familiar aura returning to normal.

“We’re going. And I have another gift to give you back at home.” Dark spoke in a fairly calm tone.

Blank gave a small nod. “Thanks Dark.” He smiled slightly.

He could have sworn he saw Dark smile back.

~~~~~~~~

The group got back home and Blank went to his room. Dark told him that he would give him the other gift later. A few minutes passed. He was writing in his book, scribbling most thoughts and experiences he had that day. He heard a knock, drawing his attention to the door. He stood up and walked to door. He managed to pull it open before looking down at it. A small, wrapped gift was on the doorstep. He grabbed the gift, shutting the door before getting to the bed. He sat down and opened the gift. The wrapping paper spread around his room. A note was left on the box.

Damien wanted you to have this, along with the pumpkin. You’re welcome.
-Dark

Blank set the card on the desk. He opened the box and stared at the contents. It was a box of random fidgets. He grabbed a fidget and started playing with it. It was a infinity cube, which had managed to distract him for a few minutes. He wasn’t sure if he would use all of these but he still appreciated the gesture. He set the box on the desk and wrote a note in the journal. Ripping out the small part of the page, he grabbed some tape and paced over to the door. He opened it and put the sloppily written note on the door.

Thanks! : D
-Blank