so intriguing, but so freaky
pairing: neighbor!simon “ghost” riley x neighbor!reader
summary: your neighbor helps you overcome your fear of dogs
you were walking down the sidewalk in your neighborhood, trying to reach your daily steps. you leaned your head back, wanting to feel the warm sunshine on your features. there was a light breeze in your hair, your mind in euphoria, the music playing through your headphones only enhancing your bliss.
unfortunately, every ounce of your bliss washed away when you saw it, bringing your head down, eyes widening with fear at the sight of the large animal-like being at the end of the street.
a small gasp escaped your mouth as it started running towards you. pivoting on your heel, you started running from the beast, cursing yourself for having your volume all the way up. you probably could’ve heard the animal before getting too close to it, but now the predator’s chasing you and you’re probably gonna die! “help me! someone! please help!”
you were screaming bloody murder running through your neighborhood, surprised none of your neighbor’s have come out. it sounded like you were dying. can anyone hear you being chased by the monster? why is no one helping?
tears started leaving your eyes when you made the mistake of looking behind you, seeing the creature closing the distance between itself and its prey.
yeah, this was it. this was where you were going to die.
by some miracle, your prayers were answered. you saw your neighbor, who was relatively new to the street, remembering when you witnessed him unloading a truck around six months ago. it was hard not to notice the man! he was a giant with muscles the size of pumpkins! admittedly, he intimidated you. he even wore a balaclava with a skull. who does that!
despite the man’s daunting aura, you’ve talked to him a handful of times, his gruff, british accent jarring you. learning he goes by “ghost” startling you even more! the man was so intriguing, but so freaky!
and, he was your best bet.
so you ran to him, “sir! please!” you took in a breath, pushing your legs to continue moving, “ghost!”
you’d been running for a while now, tiredness slowly seeping through the veins in your limbs, but you knew you couldn’t stop, couldn’t let the thing reach you. “it’s trying to get me!”
the mysterious ghost turned to you, alerted promptly at your call to him. the brute thought he heard someone yelling from inside, his military training making him step outside to help any potential victims in danger. even retired, the man can’t stay away from the action.
he’s running in your direction instantly, big boots hammering against the gravel. ghost’s footsteps were more like stomps that sounded like bombs going off.
his strong arms pull you behind him, the critter hot on your tail, “riley! sit, now!” he roared out. you didn’t even have time to turn down your music, and you still heard the command, almost sitting down yourself. pulling your headphones around your neck, still clinging to the back of your neighbor’s shirt, you watched in silence. “yer scarin’ tha’ lass, riley!”
you observed the animal’s reactions to the brit, hearing “riley” whimper as he laid his head down.
“stay,” he huffed out, turning to you next. when you lost the first grip you had on his shirt, you quickly clinged to the front, “t-thank you, sir,” you were still crying, still scared for your fucking life. “ghost, was it?” you asked, knowing that was his name.
he nodded, eyes looking into your own, “tha’s’ right, lass. m’ rememba’ yer’s s’ y/n,” he’s moving his hand to your face now, a finger wiping the tears that streamed down your puffy cheeks.
your lower lipped wobbled next, the man choosing to graze his finger across it. a frown hid behind his balaclava, hating seeing his pretty neighbor so scared of his dog. you’d always been so sweet to the brute in the few interactions you’ve had together. riley didn’t mean any harm, he just wanted to play with you!
“m’ sorry m’ dog frightened ya. he don’ mean to be scary, he jus’ gets excited and don’ know how big he s’,” he uses his massive hand to push your hair behind your ear.
he’s trying his best to provide you with as much comfort as possible, being as gentle as possible, knowing he himself probably scares you to an extent too. he doesn’t miss the way you move your gaze to the ground when he catches you staring at him on your walks, hurriedly shuffling away to your house.
“t-that’s your dog?” you emphasized the words, eyes widening again. you surely thought the pet was a mutated predator out for your blood. how could a dog be so big? and how haven’t you noticed?
he smiles, stopping himself from laughing at your reaction. he didn’t want to make you more upset, but you were just so cute.
“yes, y/n,” he’s nodding his head, gesturing to his dog, “riley’s a great dane, they get real big.” “i don’t know much about dogs. i’m a little scared of them,” you confess, hands fiddling with your shirt now.
he pulls you into a hug, the warmth of your neighbor making you feel a lot more calmer than you thought it would. “m’ so sorry, sweets,” he’s rubbing the top of your head now, his hand swallowing your scalp, “must’ve been so scary havin’ such a big dog after ya? riley’s sorry, hon’,” he consoles, somehow bringing you closer when he hears you crying again.
you cried more when you heard riley’s whimpering increase, “quiet!” angrily leaving ghost. you felt bad for riley, your heart hurting at his cries. regardless of your fears, you didn’t want riley to get in trouble with ghost, especially knowing now he was just happy to see someone. “damn it, he jumped ova’ m’ fence again. needa’ build it higha’,” he grumbles out.
your crying soothes after a couple minutes, pulling away from your neighbor, “c-can i meet riley, sir?” you ask. “yer sure yer up for tha’, lass?”
with a final confirmation nod from you, he snapped his fingers to his dog, “riley, come.”
when riley is beside his owner, he looks to him, waiting for his following command. “sit.”
you admired the bond your neighbor shared with his pet, seeing he respected riley just as much as riley respected him. maybe dogs weren’t that bad.
ghost grabs your hand, “let em’ sniff ya first. introduce ya self’s to each otha’.” waiting for you to lead, he brings your hand to the tip of his dog’s nose, a cold, almost wet sensation brushing against your knuckles, making a soft giggle leave you.
“his sniffin’ tickle, sweetheart?” ghost couldn’t stop all the nicknames, everything about you was sweet! the brit wished he could talk with you more.
additional giggles departed your mouth when riley started licking your hand, “riley! ew,” ghost joining your laughing when he saw you shake your hand in disgust.
“see, y/n,” the man pets his dog’s back, “m’ riley ain’ so horrifiyin’.” you started petting the top of his head, scratching around to the underside of his mouth, “he isn’t!” you agreed, preciously watching the dog, “he’s just a big baby,” you cooed next, your face moving to riley’s.
the dog stole a lick across your face, “oh my goodness! riley!”
hopefully ghost will continue putting off building that fence, maybe you can start seeing riley and ghost more during your walks.
the best way to overcome fear is exposure to it, right?