Imagine- A One-shot Collection

Chained and Afraid- Jonathan Crane (Gotham)

Y/N's eyes fluttered open, and her eyes tried to adjust to the darkness. Her head hurt. The last thing she remembered was walking to her parent's apartment after work at night, and then someone jumping out and bludgeoning her on the head. Somehow, she had ended up in what she could now tell was a basement of some sort.

She was chained up to a wall, hanging there with both her ankles and wrists bound. "What the hell?" she groaned, looking around, still too dazed to realize the gravity of the situation she was in. "What is the meaning of this?"

She heard footsteps outside of the basement door, which she was facing. "Another one. Dammit, Dad, another one!" she heard someone grumble. "Why can't you leave these poor people alone?"

The viewing window on the door suddenly slid open, and a pair of tired eyes peered in at her. She met their gaze, blinking a few times and tilting her head slightly. The person gasped and there was a clatter- they had dropped whatever they had been holding. The viewing window snapped shut.

After a few moments, the person gathered up what they had dropped and unlocked the door to the basement, stepping inside. It was a boy, and he couldn't have been much older than Y/N. He stared at her with wide eyes as he placed a silver tray with a vial of yellow liquid and a syringe on it down on a weathered table in the corner of the room.

Y/N swallowed and looked him up and down. He had longer, brunette hair and sad yet piercing eyes. His pale skin looked sallow and almost sickly, like he hadn't stepped foot in the sunlight in years. "Why am I here? Let me go!" she cried, struggling against her restraints. 

"I...I can't," the boy said quietly, chewing on his lip. He seemed conflicted, and Y/N could tell he was more nervous than she was.

"Who are you?" she asked softly. She couldn't help but think he was good-looking, even though he did seem a bit ghost-like. "Why are you keeping me here?"

"My name's Jonathan," he told her, lowering his gaze. "And I am not keeping you here. my father is..." he shook his head and sniffed, seeming as though he was trying to hold back tears. "I-I shouldn't be talking to you. I'm not supposed to talk to the test subjects."

"TEST SUBJECTS?" Y/N gasped. Her eyes flicked over to the tray with the vial of liquid on it. "For that? No, absolutely not! Let me down from here!"

Jonathan looked as though he was about to, slowly approaching her. He placed his hand on her wrist, and his fingers felt cold. They were trembling as his hand glided over the cuff that held her in place on the wall. "It's a fear serum... it engulfs you in your nightmares."

"That sounds horrifying. Please..." Y/N whispered. "Please help me."

Suddenly, Jonathan jerked his hand back and shook his head. "I... I can't, I can't." He rushed back over to the tray and prepared the yellow serum.

"Why not?" Y/N exclaimed. "Look at you! You clearly don't want to do this!"

"But I have to!" Jonathan cried, fumbling the syringe as he tried to fill it with the serum.

Y/N shook her head. "You don't have to do anything that you don't want to," she insisted. "Jonathan, you know this isn't right. You know that there are so many better opportunities out there than this. You don't have to serve your father, doing shit that could get you in trouble down the road."

Jonathan shivered as he finally managed to prep the syringe and bring it over to Y/N. He pulled her hair away from her neck and wiped the area down with a towelette he had in his pocket. As he did so, Jonathan glanced over Y/N's face, admiring her features. "You're so beautiful," he found himself saying, staring into her wide eyes. "Of course, my father would choose you."

"Wh-What do you mean by that?" Y/N asked, trying to stall for as much time as she could.

"He hates people who are prettier than us. He says they get all the funding and they get all the fame while we beg for scraps," Jonathan explained. "He's trying to cure fear, and no one believes he can. That's why he does this... he kidnaps people, beautiful and handsome people, so that he can carry out his research." He hovered the syringe over her neck, dangerously close to piercing it. "It's not fair to you all."

Y/N held her breath as she studied Jonathan. Although he didn't look healthy, he wasn't an ugly boy at all. All he needed was a bit of sunlight and a proper shower. He also needed to be less stressed out. "I think you're handsome," she murmured, meaning it sincerely.

This caught Jonathan off guard and he drew the syringe back a bit, giving Y/N more room to breathe. "What? I... I don't understand. How-how could you call me such a nice thing after all of this?"

"Because it's true," she said. " You say that your father treats you unfairly. Well, I think that his work is overshadowing the attractive boy he has been blessed with. I think YOU are the one who is being treated unfairly."

The syringe clattered to the ground as Jonathan stumbled back, holding his head in his hands. "You're right! You're right! I hate that you're right!" he sobbed, pulling at his hair.

"Shh, Jonathan, please, calm down," Y/N cooed gently. "I know that this is a lot for you. But you can set things right. And you can start by letting me go."

Jonathan stared up at her with teary eyes as he stood. "But my father..."

"Don't worry about him. If you let me down, I will take you with me, back to the city," Y/N promised him. "I will help you hide from your father, and get a new life."

Jonathan swallowed thickly as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a key. Wordlessly, he began undoing her cuffs. When they were off, Y/N fell into Jonathan's arms, and he held her, breathing heavily. "I can't believe I just did that," he breathed.

"It's okay, you're okay..." Y/N assured him, pulling away.

Jonathan picked up the serum-filled syringe in one hand and took Y/N's hand in the other. "Come on!" he led her out of the basement and to the front of the house. Y/N smiled when she opened the door and sunlight hit her face.

"We're free!" she cried happily, going to pull Jonathan out the door.

But he wiggled his hand out of her grasp and stood at the doorway, right at the edge, as if there was an invisible wall that prevented him from stepping foot outside. "Go, please," he begged her, taking out the syringe.

"What... what are you doing?" Y/N asked, drawing back to him. "Jonathan..."

"Go!" he told her. "I can't go with you."

"What do you mean?" Y/N asked, a lump forming in her throat from the brokenness of Jonathan's voice.

"If I go with you, you'll be in constant danger," Jonathan's voice cracked as he explained. "My father will hunt you down. He will not rest until he has us both back. And I can't do that to you."

Tears were streaming down his face now. Y/N shook her head. "No, no, no, no, Jonathan, you are coming with me!" she whimpered, trying to pull him outside.

But instead, Jonathan pulled her to him and pressed their lips together locking them in an embrace. The kiss was long, passionate, and full of sadness. Just as quickly as he had pulled her in, Jonathan pushed her away and stuck himself with the serum.

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?" Y/N screamed.

"If I waste it, he'll get mad!" Jonathan replied, clutching at his neck and dropping the syringe. "Goodbye." Y/N ran to him but he slammed the door shut and locked it.

"JONATHAN!" she shrieked, banging on the door. "NO!" she could hear his terrified screams from beyond the door, the sound filling Y/N with despair and dread. She saw a truck pull up to the house and a man got out of it, whom she assumed was Jonathan's father. She needed to go.

She took one last look at the door and placed her hand on it. "I will be back, Jonathan," she promised before running as fast as her feet could carry her to the GCPD...