Thantophobia // CrankGamePlays X Reader

Eight

(___)= Name
(F/a)= Favorite animal
(F/c)= Favorite color
(S/c)= Skin color
(E/c)= Eye color

*

The beady, round eyes of the adorable stuffed (f/a) watched me from across the room. They were emotionless; forever staring at me. When Tyler had first won the little creature for me, I was ecstatic, but now, alone in my room, it was unsettling.

I sat up, the soft blankets that were previously covering my body sliding down. They stopped in a bundle of fabric at my hips, bunched together, various colors clashing. I pulled them closer to my chest, the softness seeming to be the only comfort I had at the moment. I swallowed, trying to bring moisture back to my mouth that was annoyingly dry. My eyes shifted, scanning along the darkness of my room, trying to ignore the stuffed (f/a). They stopped, noticing the phone that sat untouched upon my dresser. Its been days.

I began to reach, stretching as far as I could so I didn't need to leave the comfort of my bed. When my fingers locked around the familiar object, I glanced to the window Ethan had appeared out of so many times before. My (s/c) thumb hovered over the screen for a short moment, as I contemplated whether calling Ethan at this hour would be worth it. Would he even answer?

Before I knew it, my phone was buzzing, letting me know that Ethan's was currently ringing. I waited, eyes locked on the screen. The seconds seemed to drag on as I waited for a response, and I began doubting Ethan would answer in the middle of the night. He was more than likely fast asleep, snori-

"(___)?" A familiar voice flooded my ears. I could tell by the way he spoke, slow and groggy, that I had woken him.

"You were asleep, weren't you?" I said quickly, my voice laced with sorrow. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you." I pulled the phone away from my ear, about to hang up, but Ethan's voice stopped me.

"Don't."

I shook my head, lifting the phone once again. "Go back to bed, Etha-"

"If you hang up on me, I swear to god, I will crawl through your fucking window." He hissed.

Shrugging, I responded. "I'll just lock it."

"I've probably got a brick lying around somewhere." Ethan said, and I felt a grin tugging at the corner of my mouth. "Do you want me to break your window, (___)? Because I'll do it. You hang up, and I'll do it."

"Okay, okay!" I laughed before he could continue. "Are you done theatening me, now?"

There was a small hum, as if Ethan was thinking it over. "Yep."

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Ethan's room light up suddenly, the former darkness vanishing instantly. If he turned on his light, then he was truly going to stay up. Throwing my blankets off me, I stood, walking over to my bedroom window that faced Ethan's.

"You want to come over?" I asked, tilting my head as I stared into his room.

Seconds later, Ethan appeared at his window. He jumped, green eyes widening as they saw me. Without a second of hesitation, a huge smile spread across his face, the corners of his eyes crinkling adorably. In response to my question, he gave me a thumbs up. "I thought you were never going to ask."

Rolling my (e/c), I unlocked my bedroom window, pulling it open. "Just get your ass over here before I change my mind."

By the time I finished my remark, Ethan was through the open window. "You would never change your mind when it comes to me." Ethan cooed, fluttering his eyelashes.

Laughing, I finally ended the call that had still been displayed on my phone screen. Before I knew what to say, Ethan pulled me into his chest, hugging me. I couldn't resist the smile that crept onto my lips as his arms wrapped around my body. I buried my face in his chest. "I missed you too, dumbass."

He let out a chuckle before letting me go. Mentally, I frowned, already growing cold without the feeling of his arms around me. I really did miss him.

There was silence as Ethan scanned my room, noticing all the new objects scattered. "So," he crossed his arms, his eyes locking on the (f/a), "I think we've got some catching up to do."

*

"You're joking!" Ethan insisted, an unbelieving look on his face.

"I'm not!" I demanded, showing him the picture of Tyler and I on the slingshot ride. "I really did it."

Ethan snatched the picture, closely scanning it as if it was fake. "And you didn't puke all over Tyler?" As he said the name, his eyes flashed with something I couldn't quite make out at that moment.

"Nope." I said, proudly. My fingers brushed his as I grabbed the picture, placing it back inside the box that contained pictures of Tyler and I. "If I went with you though, I wouldn't need to ride it to puke."

Ethan laughed, shoving me...with a little too much force I should add. I slammed onto the ground, my feet still resting on top of my bed. At that, Ethan and I burst into a fit of laughter, the pain from the fall vanishing as the merriment echoed through my bedroom. As the laughter died down, Ethan reached for me, holding out a hand to help me up. I closed my hand around his. I hesitated, wanting to remain on the ground a moment longer, unsure why. Suddenly, I forced my arm down, pulling Ethan off the bed. His body slammed onto the ground besides mine and, once again, we began shrieking laughter. I already knew my neighbors would be complaining. Did I care? Not one bit.

My stomach began aching from how hard I had been laughing. My cheeks stung from the permanent smile that was on my face, the tears sticking to my skin. Seconds later, Ethan's laughter ceased, and we were left in a peaceful silence.

"I'm sorry for these last few days." I muttered, staring up at my ceiling.

"It's fine." Ethan shifted, attempting to lay comfortably on my floor. "I'm just...really happy so see you again."

Delicately, he grazed his fingers along mine, before intertwining our hands. I closed my eyes, smiling at the feeling of his warm skin on mine. For a long time, we stayed like that; lying on my floor, hand in hand, not daring to speak and ruin the moment.

Tyler.

Without warning, I pulled my hand away from Ethan's, sitting up rapidly. As my hand slipped from his grasp, Ethan opened his eyes, eyebrows knitting together.

"I'm sorry." I whispered. "I'm sorry."

Hesitantly, Ethan sat up, his green eyes never shifting away from me. He seemed generally confused. "Sorry?" His voice was low, so low that I suspected he was talking to himself, as if trying to place a missing puzzle piece. Surely enough, he placed it, realization creeping onto his face. "Oh."

Pain flooded my heart as he lowered his gaze. Seconds later, it moved to my bed, remaining on the small box. Ethan stood, using my bed to pull himself up.

I watched with sorrowful eyes as he placed his hand on the top picture, his expression blank. He licked his lips, before removing his hand from the paper. "We have a shift tomorrow. I, uh...I'll see you there."

"Are you sure you don't want to spend the night?" I asked, standing as he approached my window. The only thing that would be separating us in a matter of seconds.

Ethan stopped. He turned around in time for me to notice a muscle in his cheek twitch. His eyes lingered on me, the once stunning green color seeming faded- I didn't try to convince myself it was from the darkness of my room.

"I'd rather not."

He continued forward, movements slowed. For a short moment, he stayed in my window, as if he was waiting for me to reach after him. All I could do was stand there and watch, even though every inch of my body screamed at me to stop him from leaving.

He slipped out before I lifted a hand.

*

Oopsies???

Sorry for the long ass wait. As an apology...Part 1 of a double update ;)