Chapter 5 / Onceler x Reader
Your head was spinning.
The blueprint you found between Oncelerâs things was a project of an unimaginably giant factory. This complicated machineryâs purpose seemed to be remaking Truffula tufts into thneeds. Maybe it wasnât his? Maybe it was an outside project which he, certainly, wanted to reject? Margin notes suggested otherwise. There it was, written in his handwriting: âsmogue?â. Â
âFuck thisâ, you thought hysterically, immediatelly wanting to dump his ass. How come he didnât mention building a full-size, XIXth century style factory? What else was he hiding? You couldnât believe you let him continuously lie to you. Suddenly you realised what the point of your vacation was. He was keeping you in here so you couldnât see what was happening with his workshop. Thatâs why he didnât want you to go to Greenville or pretty much anywhere else. You felt tears falling down your cheeks. You gave yourself permission to be vulnerable and it bit you back. You shouldnât have done this.
You sat on the bed, closing your eyes. Breathe in, breathe out. Maybe this wasnât so bad? Maybe it was just a practice drawing or some twisted form of a surprise? Building a giant factory doesnât even compare to cheating, itâs just a⌠factory? Confusion replaced anger. You didnât know how to feel about this. No one has ever built a secret factory without telling you. And where the hell was he anyway?
You knew you should confront him. Honest communication is the key to a healthy relationship. But he wasnât honest, so why would you be? You quickly went back to his drawer and stuck the blueprint back between the shirts. You poured yourself a glass of wine, wrapped a thneed around your shoulders and went outside. Exceptionally bright, full moon emerged among the clouds, while you sat comfortably on your wooden porch.Â
You decided not to confront him. Moreover, you decided not to tell him anything at all. You wanted to see how it plays out and investigate a little on your own. If he didnât want to talk about his work, you were gonna find other sources. After all, you were one theatrical bitch.Â
The sound of a car approaching brought you down to earth. You tossed the wine glass in the sink and ran back to bed, pretending to be long asleep. âThis is definitely not a cabâ, you thought as the engine was quiet, rather like a sports car than an old taxi. What was he doing driving around in the middle of the night?
The door opened and closed. He was extremely quiet while changing into his pyjamas. It couldnât have been the first time he was sneaking out like that. He crawled into bed gently, trying not to wake you up, and put his arms around you.Â
You felt a sudden warmth in your chest. Your feelings toward him didnât change. You knew there mustâve been a good reason he wasnât telling you about this. But you werenât gonna sit patiently and wait for him to finally tell you all about it. You needed to know, now.
...
You woke up. For a moment it felt like every other morning. Like everything that happened last night was just a dream. You quickly realised that wasnât true.
- Good morning, y/n - Onceler was up and ready, making pancakes - howâd you sleep?
- Good - you lied - and you?
- Alright - he said with surprising confidence - what do you wanna do today? Itâs the last day of my leave, we could do something fun.
âThis is your chanceâ, you thought, âthis is your chance to catch him in a lieâ. And since youâve established that he was keeping you here so you couldnât see what he was buildingâŚ
- Letâs go to Greenville - you proposed - I could use some human interaction.
- Really? Thatâs what you wanna do on the last day of our vacation? - his response was quick and almost nonchalant, but you could clearly notice a hint of anxiety unfolding in his eyes - letâs go to the lake.
- Again? - you sighed.
- How come you donât want to go swimming? - he laughed nervously.
You shrugged your shoulders and decided to push it a little bit more to see how he handles it.
- I wanna go to Grenville. We could watch a movie.
- Actually, I just remembered - you could see him getting more and more anxious - I have to swing by work today. Iâm not exactly sure how long it will take, but maybe Iâll get us some wine and we can watch a movie in the garden when I get back?
âDamn, heâs a good liarâ, you thought. Suddenly, you came up with the most brilliant idea.
- That does sound good.
He seemed to be relieved.
- Okay, um⌠a coworker will pick me up in 15 minutes. Is that okay?
- Sure - you smiled at him.Â
You had to act quick. You put on a hoodie and leggings, dived into your wardrobe looking for a backpack.
- I think Iâm gonna go on a little hike - you said, trying to sound natural.
- Cool! - he replied with a mouth full of pancakes, completely unaware of the true purpose of your comfortable attire.
You put on your hiking shoes and packed a big water bottle. âMaybe I should bring a raincoat?â, you thought, weirdly excited about your trip.
- Have some pancakes! - he looked at you with a smile - itâs the best source of energy.
âGodâ, you thought while quickly stuffing things into your backpack, âhow can he act so natural?â. You finished packing and sat at the table next to him.
- Have some of mine - he stood up, put on a coat and gave you a kiss - Iâll be back soon.
- See you later, Once.
He went out. You quickly ran for your backpack and looked outside the window. You could still see him between the trees. You opened the door, as quietly as humanly possible, grabbed your bike and followed him.Â
(Broadcast - The Book Lovers playing in the background)
âIf he sees me, Iâm screwedâ, you thought, trying not to breathe too loud. Your heart was pounding outside your chest. Was this a mistake? You walked behind him for about 15 minutes until you heard the sound of a car unlocking.
You quickly hid behind a tree as he looked around, stepping into a brand new Audi A5, on the driverâs side. âFuckâ, you thought, âthatâs a nice carâ. You hopped on the bike.
You rode right past him. It wasnât exceptionally difficult as he seemed to be struggling, driving between the trees extremely slow. The picture of a giant factory appeared in your head. Was it built already? Or was he still working in it? Was there a tower with a secret office? Maybe a medieval style dungeon? You needed to know.
What worried you the most were the trees. You remembered the conversation you had half a year ago:
- Donât you have to like⌠cut down the trees to get them?
- At first I thought so too! But then, since it came out that Iâm not gonna be knitting that many of them⌠I found a way of harvesting them, which doesnât disrupt their growth at all.
He wasnât knitting that many of them. What if he was now? What if he started cutting the Truffulas down? You still couldnât really picture the size of this in your head. How well was it going that he was building a factory? He mustâve been selling⌠hundreds per day? Thousands? Then you thought of another vital question: what kind of money was he making? The car, the suit⌠the bracelet.
You looked down your wrist. There it was, suddenly filling you with guilt. Tears went down your cheeks. What a fool you were, trusting someone so much, thinking everything could possibly turn out so perfect. You should haveâŚ
A sudden, sharp pain emerged somewhere around your forehead. Everything froze.
(Sin Fang, SĂłley and Ărvar SmĂĄrson - Citrus Light playing in the background)
For a few seconds, nothing was real. The world was spinning. Your body was⌠on the ground? It seemed like it. You grabbed your head where it seemed like the throbbing was coming from. It was a natural reflex meant to stop the pain. Instead, it intensified. Your hand was warm and sticky. You looked at it. It was blurry. And red.Â
The last thing you saw before losing consciousness was a weird, sort of car-shaped machine with axes attached to its front.
- Are you okay?
- Someone come here, quick!
- Call the ambulance!
- No, letâs call the boss.
- Are you sure? Thatâs a lot of blood.
...
You woke up blinded by the harsh light of fluorescent fixtures. The pain in your head was excruciating.Â
- Sheâs awake! - an unidentified female voice screamed. You looked in its direction. A blurry figure was staring right at you - are you feeling dizzy, honey? Try not to move too much, youâve had a terrible accident.
You opened your mouth to reply, but what came out was completely unintelligible. A big tide of nausea went through your entire body.
- Shh - the blurry figure gently put its hand on your shoulder, keeping you from getting up - Youâve had a concussion. Itâs much better now, but you still need to rest. Are you feeling nauseous? Nod for yes.
You nodded.
- Iâll get you something that might help. Just try not to move too much.
As the blurry figure disappeared, you had a look around the room. Your vision was slowly getting better; you noticed white furniture and sterile, medical equipment. You were in a hospital. It wasnât the Greenville Hospital though, you were sure of it. Youâve been hospitalised there once, due to a bike accident. This room was small and much nicer than the ones they had.Â
You decided to get up and have a little look around, but shortly realised you couldnât really move your arms and legs. For a moment, you felt pure panic. Were your injuries that bad? Then you realised this wasnât the case. You were strapped to the hospital bed.
- No, no, no, no - you whispered. Suddenly you remembered what happened last night.
- Y/n! - you heard Oncelerâs voice. He ran toward you and kissed you, holding your face tighter than ever before - I was so worried.
He was wearing that green suit again, with a top hat. You pushed him away, as much as you could with your hands tied.
(Elita - Sour Switchblade playing in the background)
- You were worried?! - you yelled - you did this to me! I know everything.
- What exactly do you mean by âeverythingâ? - he smirked, sitting next to you.
- I know youâre building a huge factory and cutting the trees down - your memory was getting better as well - youâve been lying to me.
- I had to - he said with a smile - I needed to show you.
- Show me what?
- The life we could have! - he stood up and started walking around the room - just look outside the window. Itâs all ours!
- If you havenât noticed yet - you replied with discontent - Iâm not exactly able to move.
- Were you following me? - Onceler asked, changing the subject - yesterday. How did you get here?
- Iâm not talking to you until you untie me - you said angrily.Â
- That might actually come in handy - he smiled - you shouldnât be moving too much.
- What is wrong with you? - you almost screamed - untie me!
Onceler kneeled next to you and grabbed your hand.
- And what are you gonna do? Run away and get yourself in trouble again? I donât think so.
You didnât know what to say. It felt like a dream. The few seconds of silence felt like eternity.
- Iâll tell you what youâre gonna do - his smile was getting more and more creepy - youâll stay here and get better. Then Iâll show you around. There will be no more secrets between us. Then, I think youâll prefer to stay here with me. But weâll see. How does that sound?
You looked him in the eyes.
- Get away from me - you whispered - you disgust me.
- Itâs normal to feel a little agitated after a concussion - he stood up - but with all the medical professionals Iâve gathered here, youâll get better in no time! Get some more sleep, Iâll be back in the morning.
- I donât recognise you - you said - this isnât you, Onceler.
- Donât be stupid, y/n.
- Untie me! - you cried.
- Y/n, I wonât let you go back to your cabin, so donât even try.
- Why? - you asked genuinely.
- Because now you hate me - he kneeled next to you again, putting his hand on your cheek - and I donât want you to act on it. But Iâm pretty sure youâll stop hating me soon. And then we can talk.
You stared blankly at the wall, trying to figure out what to say.
- How do you know Iâll ever stop hating you? - you asked - after all this.
- Because I know you - he kissed your hand - you will want to stay here with me.
- I wonât - his face was inches away from yours.
He smiled.
- You will.










