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

Coffee and Bile

{A/N} I'll keep this short, because I know that author's notes bug some people and you probably just want to read the story, but this has reached just about 500 reads. I really appreciate everyone who's taken time out of their day to read, comment, or vote and inflate my ego (as if my head isn't big enough). But, all jokes aside, thank you. Your support means the world to me.

For a while, I'm able to distract myself with YouTube and Hulu. I spend hours on end binging random things I find. Eventually (I get to around 8:00AM), I find that I'm unable to prevent the poisonous thoughts from polluting my mind.

I pace around the house for a bit in a futile attempt to untangle my odd feelings. Despite my tries to remain level headed and logical, my thoughts return to the weird feeling that rises in my stomach whenever Dark gets too close to me and my cheeks heat up. Frowning, I give up on assessing my emotional state, deciding to leave the house.

It's a sunny afternoon – not optimal weather, but I can deal. Though a bit too warm to casually wear a jacket, I choose to defy the norm and toss on a black hoodie. After a while of aimless walking, I find myself back at the cafe where I had my first out of body experience. I sit inside, grabbing a cup of coffee to shake off the fatigue. The barista guy walks up to the table where I sit.

The smug look plastered on his face immediately notifies me that his intention is a bit more than platonic. I've rarely experienced flirting before, and I'm not particularly in the mood to deal with other people's emotions. So, as he approaches, I gain a cold and distant attitude. The man arrogantly takes a seat in front of me. He's attractive, I won't deny him that, but he seems a bit too confident in his capabilities in wooing people.

"Hey there," he says, smirking and leaning forward. "What's your name?"

Based on his expectant eyes, this line accompanied by his confident mask probably makes people blush. Contrary to his expectations, I don't shift my posture, reaching for my coffee.

"[Y/N]," I sate bluntly. "Out of courtesy, what's yours?"

Though taken aback by the strange response, he doesn't get the hint and continues.

"Well, [Y/N], the name's Armon."

I proceed to take a long sip from my coffee with blatant disinterest. As I set my cup down, I feel a cold presence behind me. I turn, but find no one there. When I look back to Armon, he's proceeded to scoot closer to me and throws an arm around the back of my chair. He smiles and places a gentle hand underneath my chin so that I have to look in his eyes. Immediately, I tense at the contact.

"Why don't we meet up after my shift? I'm almost done here."

I brush his hand away, annoyed by his persistence. He seems surprisingly unfazed by my action, probably believing I'm playing hard to get.

"I'm good. I'm just gonna head home after I finish this," I say, pointing to the half empty cup before me.

"Oh, come on. You sure you don't wanna hang out?" the barista insists.

He definitely thinks I'm playing hard to get, I groan internally.

"Really," I shut down. "I'm good."

Before he can say anything else, his manager gives him a stern look from the kitchen. Armon sighs and reluctantly gets up.

"Don't worry, we'll see each other soon, [Y/N]."

Finally, he walks away. I don't even wait to finish my coffee and quickly leave, glad to be free of the guy. As I leave the building, I get about a block away before I hear another pair of footsteps behind me. Quickening my pace, I move to a public area with plenty of people. A hand shoots out and grabs my arm, causing me to pull away and turn around sharply.

Oh fuck this.

"Hey, [Y/N]," Armon simpers.

I can't deal with this fucker. Not today. Not now.

"I thought you were still working."

"I told you my shift was ending soon," he moves in line beside me.

Goddammit. He did say that, didn't he?

"Do you need something?"

"I was hoping to get your number. I'd love to talk sometime."

I was hoping you'd fucking die before you caught up with me, I shoot back, inconspicuously reaching a hand into my pocket and running my thumb over my pocketknife's smooth exterior.

"About that..." I begin, taking a step away from him. The barista grabs my arm to keep me from moving any further.

"What's the matter? I thought you'd be ecstatic to get attention from someone like me," the jackass egomaniac says.

My second attempt to pull away from him doesn't succeed, and I begin to grow angrier. Before I can stab this son of a bitch, the familiar cold presence returns behind me and a cool hand places itself on my shoulder. Armon looks behind me.

"Let go," a steely voice demands.

The barista hastily lets go of my arm, glancing to me with an... "endearing" look. "I was just about to ask [Y/N] if I could walk them home."

I lean back into Dark's chest behind me, relieved that he appeared before I did something I'd regret. One by one, the people in the area move elsewhere, but the man in front of me doesn't notice. He merely darts his eyes from my annoyed expression to Dark's furious eyes and calm facade. A ghost of a smirk plays on my lips, but I conceal it well.

"And I'm not going to go let you," I state, refusing his offer. Armon gives me a slight glare.

Dark moves me so that I'm by his side. His arm moves from my left shoulder to around my waist. The flirtatious employee gives a slight frown at the subtle but clear gesture.

"Hold on," Armon argues. "Who are you – their boyfriend, or something?"

"You could say that," Dark smirks, placing a cool kiss on my forehead. I suppress a smile and a blush, just letting him pull me closer to his side.

Seeing that the man doesn't plan to back off, I see Dark give him a glare. I know that look all too well – He used to use it on me often to knock me out or make me sick. Similar effects must be influencing Armon, because I can see his expression quickly change. The street we're on is completely deserted now, so I know Dark has something planned.

The barista takes a step back and places a hand on his stomach. His eyes move from us to the ground.

"I'd suggest you leave, Armon," Dark growls, though the man never mentioned his own name. The grip around my waist becomes tighter as the demon's anger increases.

Still, the cocky cafe employee holds his ground.

Idiot, I openly smirk.

The man groans and drops to his knees, continuing to clutch his stomach. Suddenly, Dark quickly picks me up and into his arms. Before I can question his action, I watch as Armon begins vomiting heavily. Dark takes a step back away from the mess, and out of smelling range. The man on the ground continues to heave up his insides. Eventually, the bile evolves into a mixture of blood and stomach acid, then just a waterfall of thick red fluid. The metallic scent wafts to my nose, covering any other. Finally, the man finishes and collapses to the side of the large pool. He stops moving.

Dark's iron grip while holding me bridal style is almost painful as he says:

"No one touches them."

With that, we teleport back to the house.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter of "I'm Here to Help You" as much as I enjoyed writing it. Comments and votes are super appreciated. Thanks for reading! ~Blue