I'm Here to Help You (Darkiplier x Reader)

Mutual Interest

I don't fall asleep for the rest of the night, but I'm still too exhausted to get up and be productive. Instead, I use the time to think. Mostly, I wonder how Dark's going to respond to my outburst. Yes, he was scared of me for a short while, but he's almost certainly gotten over it by now.

Will he retaliate? I wonder. Will he torture me for defying him?  Will he respect me now?

Before my thoughts can continue, I get a call from Martino's phone. For a fleeting moment, I wonder if Dark had been lying in an attempt to keep me away from him. I shake my head and answer the phone, aware that it wasn't the type of the thing Dark would do. Sitting up in bed, I bring the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I answer.

"H-Hello, [Y/N]," a woman's wavering voice responds. "This is M...Martino's mother. I was just calling some of his closest friends t-to tell them that he..." At this point, she begins sobbing. In a choked voice, she's able to relay: "He passed away in his sleep." It's hardly a whisper.

At this, I manage my best impression of someone who's just experienced great grief. "Oh my god... I... You can't be serious. We–We were just talking the other day! He can't be gone!"

"I am so sorry, b-but it's true. We found him in bed this morning."

"When's the... umm..." I hesitate at the last word.

"The funeral will be next month. I will make sure to send you and your mother an invitation."

"I-I'm sorry for your loss..." I indirectly apologize. It is my fault he was killed, after all.

"Thank you. Goodbye, [Y/N]."

"Bye, Mrs. Willden."

Mrs. Willden hangs up, and I heave a sigh of relief. She seemed to buy my act. I flop back down onto the bed. My arms swing over my face and the phone slips out of my right hand and onto the floor. I feel like crying, but no tears come to my eyes.

A cold presence suddenly materializes in my room.

"What do you want?" I ask Dark, without moving.

"I want to explain something," he says.

"Explain away." I give a nonchalant gesture. Dark sighs in frustration, and I feel the presence disappear for an instant. Suddenly, he's reappeared above me, grabs my arms, and moves them away from my face. He then pulls me up into a sitting position and tightly wraps his other hand around my left shoulder. Dark has a serious look on his face, not a condescending one.

"Look," he begins, "I wasn't... I didn't withhold information from you because I thought that you wouldn't find out; I didn't tell you that I killed Martino because I..." I look at him quizzically. Why didn't he tell me, if not to prevent me from finding out? Finally, he speaks again:

"I didn't tell you because I killed him in a moment of anger and didn't think it through. I was worried that it would cause you to hate me."

For a moment, I'm surprised by his answer. Did he really worry that I'd– Then, sense returns to me. He still needs me to trust him to get whatever he wants. If I hate him, then I won't trust him. Then, it wouldn't matter if Martino was in the way or not, because he would've lost his chance. I roll my eyes.

"You don't want me to hate you because you need my trust to get what you want. That's fine. Just don't treat me like I'm dumb." Dark's grip on my shoulders tightens for a moment as if he wants to object, then loosens as he nods.

"Alright." Dark looks off to the side.

I wave my hand to dismiss his discomfort. "It's fine, really," I soothe, trying to show him that my anger had passed. "Besides, I don't actually hate you."