I won't fall for those tricks!
You have been working at a Cafe and you couldn't be any more happier! Recently a travelling circus has settled in your town for a month and strange thing start to happen, thankfully you're aware of what's happening and have a tarot deck to help you.
The Freak Circus x Chubby!reader
The reader's personality will be based off of how a normal person would act and what choices I would do if I were to be in the TFC universe.
Enjoy the main course, Dear guest.♡
Another day, Another Shift.
Everyday has been an organized loop that you orchestrated; Wake up at 6:45 am, meditate, do a daily tarot reading, eat breakfast, get ready for work, and arrive at the cafe exactly 7:45 am to start your shift. Simple as it is the routine grounds you everyday throughout the busy shifts and rude customers, where rest becomes truly rewarding.
You heard news of a travelling circus coming to your town and settling here for a month, You can already guess that business can possibly boom more with the amount of people leaving their houses to see the circus. No matter, as long as you can continue your beautiful loop then it isn't much of a problem; you remark to yourself.
You sit up from your bed, staring at the window as sunlight creeps into your room like a regular customer. "Good Morning." you greet to none but continue to say everyday, your fingers reaching over to neaty pull off your blankets.
It was a full moon earlier that evening so you were already quite awake around 4 am to collect moon water and to charge your tarot deck and crystals, Don't worry though; you brought them all inside before the sun rose around 5:45 am. You stand up and reach over for your tarot deck, making your way towards your balcony then sitting down on the floor.
"What does the world have in store to me today?" You ask to none again and opened your tarot deck, shuffling through cards as you watch 3 cards jump out one by one. You flip the first one to see The Tower, "Ah shit, here we go again." You jokingly scoff and nervously laugh despite the uneasy pit in your stomach. "Something is gonna happen and… It's not good." You chuckle to yourself and cover your face with your hands.
The dread and fear slowly creeping up from your stomach to your heart. "There's still hope, just stay calm." You reassure yourself and take a deep breath before flipping over the next card; The Devil. "Hm, that's weird. There's no addiction or obesession in my heart or mind. I am chained but by what?" You ponder to yourself, looking up from your cards to the outside view of your balcony.
"Work? No, it can't be. My work life is professional and healthy." You sigh and shake your head. "That means it hasn't happened." You answer your own question before looking back at the card with aprehension. "Yet." You added before turning over the last card. Your eyes widen in shock causing you to drop the card.
"The Lovers…?" You spoke with a quiet voice. "I've never gotten that before in a personal reading." You murmur and laugh nervously. "Imagine it's like a yandere esque situation, ha!" You laugh to yourself in amusement before knocking on wood. "I am so fucked." You say enthusiastically before picking up your cards to reshuffle them when another card suddenly jumps out.
"The Fool?" You hum and stare at the illustration, specifically at the flower being held. "I guess my life won't be as organized as I anticipated." You chuckle and reshuffle your cards again then putting it away next to your Quartz and Selenite crystals. You eat a quick breakfast of oatmeal and coffee before taking a shower.
It's 7:30 and you finished earlier than you had anticipated, That's fine though. It means you can take your time walking to work. You pick up your sling bag and make sure all doors are locked or closed before leaving your apartment. You can see that the streets are a mess of flyers littering the space, "Well that's not nice." You hum and pick up a few flyers and sticking some of them on walls or giving to people.
You turn around when you hear a commotion, seeing a few people yelling to what you can assume is an entertainer from the circus. "Ever since you showed up, people have been disappearing! Go back to whatever hellhole you crawled out of!" A man yelled as he hit the entertainer, your eyes widen and you can't help but feel bad for the entertainer despite the fact people have been going missing.
"I'm talking to you, you freak! Get out of our town!" The man declared ready to land another hit but before he could you reached over and stopped his arm."Hey! Stop that, you can't just place the blame on someone or something with no valid proof." You bark back and glare at him. "Try anything else to hurt them and I'll call the police." You added as the man took his hand back. "Screw that! Open your eyes. I hope they take you too!" He grunts and walk away.
You look around at the crowd forming with a glare. "Do I make myself clear?" You cross your arms and straighten your back, watching as the crowd disperse. You sigh and turn around to face the entertainer, "Hey there? Are you alright?" You smile kindly and help him stand up, 'He's quite tall' you remark in your head as you scan his physical wellbeing without it being obvious. The bells on his outfit softly chiming with each movement.
"Humanity— Err, People are just so… Hot headed and blinded sometimes. Better off to not get too close to them, no?" You nervously laugh as he nods to your statement, "Here you should get that lil scar covered so it won't get infected." You rummage through your sling bag and give him a pink bandage. He smiles and take the bandage, tilting his head as he watches you in fascination.
"I know that the color is different but that's only because my friend gave me those as a gift." You smile and try to do small talk but The entertainer stays silent. "I love your outfit, by the way! It brings out the color of your eyes and hair." You grin and give them thumbs up, complimenting the way the red and black colors fit them. "Ah, well I need to go. I'll see you when I see you." You wave goodbye to the entertainer and hastily walk to the cafe.
"You're here just in time, Today's busier than usual due to the cold temperature." Your boss remarks once you walked in the cafe. "Start as soon as you can, Carol's running late and I've been covering for her."
You nod at your boss' orders and put away your bag before putting on your apron to start your shift. "The orders are already on the counter, Please take them to the tables." You nod and pick up multiple trays.
"You covered her whole shift? Is she okay?" You look at your boss with worry and his gaze mirrors the one you have. "I couldn't reach her. Maybe she's not feeling well." He answered but that dread suddenly came back with that sense of being watched.
You walk over to the first table and serve their order. "A coffee with cheese bread and a cappucino with a brownie, right?" The man with brown hair and grey eyes nodded and thanked you, the man next to him with an eyepatch and black hair looked up at you with a smile.
"Hey Barista, did you hear the news?" The man with an eyepatch asked before the man next to him put hit him lightly. "San Lang, Don't scare the poor thing." The other man nervously laughs before smiling at you.
"Are you talking about the missing people?" You clarified as the eyepatched man nodded. "They say those people who are missing ran away with their lover." The other man explained and you feel that sinking feeling of dread in your stomach again.
"You don't believe that, do you?" The eyepatched man laugh and ate some of the cheesebread. "San Lang!" The other man scolds the eyepatched man before turning to you. "My apologies for him, please stay safe." You laugh and nod before making your way to the next table.
You swore you saw a shadow against the window but it was suddenly gone.
"Here's your hot chocolate." You smile and place the mug infront of the woman with dark hair, red eyes, and a dangling star earring. "Thank you. This cold weather truly makes one crave something warm." She notes and picks up the mug. "I know right? It suddenly got cold." The woman nodded and smiled at you, as she tilts her head.
"Pray tell. Do you like working at this establishment?" The woman asked looking at you with a gaze that feels like she's dissecting you. "I do." You nod and smile at her. "If ever you wish to find a… Safer job. Don't hesitate to contact me." She chuckled softly and handed you a calling card. "Toodaloo~" She hummed and waved goodbye to you.
You quickly make your way towards the last table, feeling teh unbearable heat of the coffee starting to burn your hand. "Ack— I need to get this to the next table." You wince and make your way to the next table, too distracted by the pain and rush to notice the shadow reappearing again.
"Thanks, I've been dying to have coffee." The young man with man with glasses thanks you before turning back to continue his conversation to the girl with brown hair and bear ears. "Did you see those flyers for the circus?" The girl asks as she lifts her gaze up from her unfinished crochet project.
"Yeah babe. It's weird isn't it? It's been a long time since a travelling circus came to town." The man responded as he took a sip of his cofee. "I can't help but feel creeped out by the clowns." The girl shyly admitted and blushed.
"You've got to hand it off to them though. It's a good techniqe for makerting." The man quirks his head before setting down his coffee. "Oh yeah, sorry. We're settle here, thank you." The man snaps out of the conversation and smiles at you.
You take all the trays and organize them on the counter for next use. From the corner of your eye you see heart shapes on the window. "The flyers being plastered around here is annoying and so is ripping them off, don't let anyone hand those around here." Your boss grunts as he prepares the next order to be served.
"If you have time, pick them up and throw them out." You nod and turn around ready to do the task before suddenly facing your boss again. "Some people are being rude to those circus folk, don't you think?" You ask as you think back to what happened earlier. "The way they act freaks people out. Best to keep em away, bad for business." Your boss grumbles and continues to work.
You sigh and turn around to collect the flyers scattered around. "I can't even blame them of leaving the flyers here. It is pretty rude to throw them away and they see you doing so." You sigh and neatly stack all the flyers. You hear the door chime on your right causing you to lift your gaze. "Welcome." You smile and greet the customer. "Thanks! I'd like a strong, hot coffee." The man smiled at you and sat down.
You get a mug and pour some coffee, then making your way towards the man. The man was wearing a blue suit with his hair slicked back. "Thanks. It's really cold outside." He nods and smiles at you again. This time you meet his gaze and feel that sense of dread again but this time much more stronger. "What's with those flyers?" The man asked; his voice soft but commanding. "Oh, someone was handing them out. I had to pick them all up to avoid it being a mess." You smile and carefully mask your fear.
Something is wrong.
Something is wrong with this man.
"How rude to do that in a place of business, right?" The man asked again with such emphasis on the last work. "Quite so." You nod and keep your responses short out of caution. "If you want, I can toss them for you. I'll toss them out when I leave no big deal." The man offers and smiles a little widely.
Too widely, in your opinion.
"I was… Gathering some paper for recycling anyway." The man extends his hand as if he cannot be talked out of it. "Very well, at least it won't be a waste of paper." You nod and hand him the neat stack of flyers. "No problem, Dear." He chuckled and tilted his head slightly.
"Do you need any—" "Do you like the circus?" He interrupts you causing you to flinch slightly. "Huh? I think I'm too old for that." You nervously smile and feel the dread become worse. "Nonsense. The circus isn't for kids, They've got some creepy stuff." The man remarks.
He never blinked ever since he came in.
Guess that Tower moment is happening now, no?
"So you've been to the circus?" You ask trying to change the subject to some capacity. Your palms sweating with dread you haven't felt in a long while. The man is talking too long despite this being part of your job. "Are you even listening?" A soft scoff snaps you out of it causing you to flinch.
"Pardon?" You ask and smile politely. "Haha, thought so. Anway, here take this." The man chuckles and takes something out of his pocket, "Go on. Check it out, and then try telling me it didn't give you chills." He pulls out a pink ticket to what you can assume is for the circus.
Your throat is going dry.
You hands are sweating more.
The dread is getting stronger.
Something is gonna happen.
"Oh n-no! I can't accept something like that." You smile nervously and put your hands behind you back. "Don't worry, I already went. I was thinking of going again, but I'll be leaving town soon." The man's voice is very persuasive but you don't believe him. You can sense that there's a hidden agenda.
"Keep it, or Sell it if you want." He adds as his gaze becomes more serious despite the charming smile. "Well…" You hesitate before reaching over to take it. "Thank you, thats very kind of you—" The moment you came in contact with his hand and the ticket your necklace shatters making a mess on the floor and a loud stinging ring starts going off on your left ear.
"Oh dear. What a mess." The man remarks as he gazes down the now shattered small jar on the floor. The salt, rosemary and amethyst become a small mess. "Shit." You mumble and pocket the ticket before picking up the mess with your bare hands. "Shit. Shit." You panic and put away the mess in the pocket of your apron.
"I'm so sorry about that, I don't know why that happened. It was probbaly because of the temperature." You stand up and smile at the man with light persuasion in your tone. "I see. Must have been a precious necklace." He comments as he takes a sip of his coffee. "I'll be glad to know that someone used my ticket." He chuckles. "Thanks for your time. I'll let you go back to work." He added. "Of course, let me know if you need anything." You nod and quickly make your way towards the break room. You breathe heavily taking out the shattered contents of your protection spell jar.
You were right.
You let out a shaky sigh and put away the shattered remains of your spell in some tissue. Then putting it away in your bag, "Thank goodness I always bring a spare." You mumble and take out another necklace that looks exactly the same as the one earlier.
You clean out the inside pocket of your apron to make sure there isn't any glass shards left. Then take out the pink ticket. You cup your left ear as you stare at the ticket.
"So this was the Tower moment and so is The Devil moment. A choice to make with one filled with tempation." You sigh and feel your hand shake. "If I go then things might escalate but if I sell this then a poor soul may suffer." You sigh and put the ticket in your pocket. Noting to yourself to cleanse it with some insence when you get home.
You come out of the break room feeling less dreadful and your boss walks over to you in worry. "Are you alright? The customer told me your necklace broke?" He asked but he looks confused when he saw your necklace looking intact. "Y-Yeah, I'm okay it just broke and it was like— a gift! From my friend. Thankfully I carry a spare one around." You laugh and continue working through your shift, making sure to keep a cautious eye on that man.
By the evening your boss comes over to you again. "As soon as the last customers leave, close everything and clean up the place. We're closing early today." You look up at him from the espresso machine with curiosity.
"Did something happen?" you as before continuing to finish the order your making. "I have an unexpected appointment. And since you're working alone today, I'd rather you not leave late." He sighed and crossed his arms.
You can note the worry in his eyes and the stiffness on his shoulders. He knows something you don't. "I've gotta go now, can you take care of everything?" He asks as he makes his way to the breakroom. "Yeah I got it." You nod and finish making the order before serving it to the customer.
You don't hear what your boss last said but you can assume it's just him telling to you to call him.
"Shorter work hours are nice but…" You mumble to yourself and stare at your reflection on the window. "I wonder how carol is." You snap out of your thoughts when the last customer hands out their payment and leaves. You start sweeping the floor when you suddenly hear a bell chime.
"Sorry we're—" You turn around to meet what you can assume is a person by the door but there is none. "Closed…" You trailed off and look around. "I thought I heard someone come in—" Your words are interrupted when the light suddenly goes off.
"Boss? Is that— wait actually don't talk in the dark I might invite something to me." I scolf myself and take out my pocket lighter for some source of light. "Oh there's swtitch. I'm not cooked right?" You laugh nervously to yourself and make your way to the light swtich. Despite the feeling of being watched you knew it was better to act positive than negative.
You flip the light switch and the light turns on. You blow the small flame on your lighter before putting it away. "I should've locked the main door, silly me." I laugh at myself before turning around. "Sorry we're closed— oh. You're the guy from earlier." You smile and walk over to the counter. You look up at him to see him bleeding on his forehead.
"Oh dear, you're injured. Are you okay?" You ask with worry before fetching the first aid kit to help him. The entertainer smiles at you and hands you a paper crafted rose. "Oh my, thank you." You smile and take the rose, noting that familiar metallic scent. "Is it because of the bandage I gave you earlier?" He nods and smiles wider, showing that he's in utter delight.
"Sit down and I'll help you take all that blood off." I smile and open the first aid kit to get some disenfectant and cotton balls. "Do you talk…? Or is it part of the act?" You take a step backwards to throw away the dirted cotton balls. The entertainer looks around before leaning closer.
"I can't bee seen talking." He whispered so quietly that you almost missed it. "Ah so it is part of the act." you nod in understanding. "Yes my dear. I appriciate all your help." He tilts his head and tries to lean in closer but you don't let him.
"I'm the Pierrot! Nice to meet you." He nods enthusiastically. "You can call me Marigold." You smile and laugh softly, not letting him find out your real name— yet. You made sure you hid your real name away from documents after all. "I know."
"But… A Pierrot? You don't look like one from those latin plays." You smile and try to make small talk. Continuing to clean around so you can leave. "Indeed, you are righ my dear!" He remarks and turns around to face you even when your back is faced to him. "We are reuqired to… Modernize my attire. But my role, remains unchanged." He hummed. His eyes trailing from your head to your back.
"People have been pretty rough withyou guys." You point out as you put away the dustpan and broom. "I suppose we may appear a touch… uncanny. That tends to unsettle people." You can't help but nod to his statement. "I guess, people tend to just bash on things they don't deem as the norm." You sigh and stretch your arms up.
"Do the Pierrots out on the street with flyers perform too?" You ask as you continue to stretch. His gaze latched onto your stomach. "Indeed. The circus is but a small cast, we both perform and hand out flyers." He hummed. You didn't notice him smiling wider. He pauses at the last part as his face contorts into annoyance.
"That's unique. So is the others silent like you?" You ask with genuine interest. "I am the only one who remains silent." He shakes his head and smiles at you. "Though I do make an exception when it's just the two of us." He added making you smile. "Your secret is safe with me." You laugh softly and tilt your head. You notice the pink bandage on his left cheek slowly falling off.
"Oh. Let me get that for you." You smile and peel off the bandage. "Thank you, My dear. And I've brought you another small token of apprieciation." He smiles widely and hands you a red ticket similar to the pink one you recieved earlier. This time you don't feel any dread and if anything it feels safer.
"Another ticket? I just got one earlier." You smile and hand him the pink ticket. Noting how his smile slowly became worried. He holds up the pink ticket and by the turn of his hand it becomes red.
"Amazing!" You smile and clap your hands in awe. "The ticket is incorrect. You wouldn't be allowed in with it. Please take mine instead." He smiles wider when he sees you praise him. "Incorrect? Like counterfeit?" You take the ticket and inspect it.
"Indeed, counterfeit. Do not accept tickets from strangers, my dear. I would not want you to encounter problems at the entrance." He nods looking triumphant that you took his lie. You're smart enough to feel that the pink ticket leads to something dangerous.
"I assure you, I'll make you smile during my performance. Just like the way you smile at me earlier." He nods. "I'd love to see it. Hey we're not supposed to stay this long in the cafe and I was instructed to close early." You smile and put away the ticket in your pocket. Pierrot nods and stands up from his seat. "I completely understand. I had hoped to arrive earlier but, I did not wish to cause you any distress. My dear." Well at least know you know why some people feel uneasy. "Hey at least now I know we can't talk in public." You smile then fetch your bag from the break room. You come back and take out the keys. "That's true. Have a good night, My dear." He waves goodbye before leaving.
You do a quick inspection around the cafe before going to the doors to lock it.
After a few minutes you make it back to your apartment. You put away your bag and make a simple dinner for the night. Usually you'd be home by 9pm but since you closed early today it meant you're eating in time.
You turn on the TV and watch some MLP while eating. After eating you wash your dishes and put them away to dry. You pick up your bag and take out the shattered pieces of your old protecttion spell.
Taking out the amethyst to reuse them again after cleansing it with insence. "That man earlier. He's bad news, but how am I supposed to bring that up to Boss without him knowing I'm like this?" You ask yourself as you stare at the amethyst. "I need a shower to clear my mind." You stand up and make your way towards your bathroom. Noting the faint sound of a bell chiming. Taking your time in showering to make sure you're fully clean.
You step out of your bathroom dressed in your pajamas when suddenly feeling a gust of cold wind. "Did I leave the door open again?" You shiver and close the balcony door. You make your steps towards your work space and light up an insence stick, making sure to cleanse yourself then letting it burn so it can premate the space. "Right. Let's get another reading, Shall we?" Usually you ask to none but you know you aren't alone. You take your tarot and take the cards out of the box. Before you can even start a card jumps out to your lap already flipped to your view.
At least it's a relief to know you're not the only one who thinks they're being watched.
You take the card back and reshuffle it. Waiting for a card to jump out but it's already been 2 minutes and you're losing patience. "Oh come on now… Don't ghost me! I still have a lot of energy." You playfully pout and laugh when you see a card immediately jump out.
"Nine of Swords? How colorful. I guess I should rest then." You chuckle and reshuffle the cards then cleanse it with insence. Your hands put the tarot deck away next to the Quartz and Selenite crystals again.
You turn off your lights and lie down on your bed, the blanket pulled up to your chest as you continue watching some TV. After a few minutes though you slowly feel your eyes drooping and you fall asleep.
Only then did Pierrot step out of your closet, breathing heavily as he approached you. "Ah… My dear. You are even more beautiful in your sleep." His sharp hand trails down from your head to your chubby cheek.
"So fragile… So defenseless…. So soft…" He smiles widely as he leans in. "You do not even know me… But I know everything about you." He chuckles under his breath.
"Every step you take, your perfectly organized routine, your preferences…" He lifts his gaze towards your work station and tries to hold back a laugh. "You're smart too." He added and turned his gaze to you. "Even the way your eyebrows furrow when you're confused… afraid. Ah… Utterly adorbale." He chokes back a moan as he bites his lip. "I was sure— the moment I saw you. I knew. Your kindess has ignited something in me." He leans in closer.
His hair brushing against your shoulders. "And you know that there's no turning back." As he was about to lean in for a kiss you turned to your side with a groan.
"Hm. Maybe next time… I'll be patient. I'd rather feel your lips with your consent and love." He laughed softly and laid down next to you, pulling you close to his body to memorize your warmth. His arms wrapping around you, a stark contrast. His lean figure against your soft curves.
You wake up in the morning 5 minutes earlier your alarm. Your eyelids fluttering as the sun perfectly hits your face. "Okay… Okay… I'm up." You groan and take a deep breath. Despite what you can assume is Pierrot that visited you last night, it felt more rejuvanating sleeping next to someone than alone.
"And so my next adventure starts, huh?" You ask to none and smirk as your gaze landed at now the turned off TV. "It's been a while anyways." You chuckle and get up to do your daily tarot reading, but a feeling is telling you to check the calling card you got yesterday.
You check your bag for the calling card given to you yesterday by that sketchy woman.
"HOLY—? This is a calling card for the infamous restaurant Lucid's Reserve? DID I TALK TO THE OWNER YESTERDAY!?" You stare at the calling card in awe then turning it around to see something written on it. "You'll need help dealing with them and finding your friend. I'll be here." It's written in red ink. You don't feel fear or dread but you feel safety.
"That's crazy though… But how does she know…?" You ponder to yourself and put the calling card back in your bag. "I can't believe I called her sketchy." You slap your face light lightly and shake your head.
Another Day, Another Shift.
We hope you enjoy the main course, Dear Guest. ♡
There is more to come for you, Clever Marigold.
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