My Monstrous Dear (Part 2)
Since enough people liked the first part, here's part 2, starting with Harlequin! I hate him, sigh
TW: Harlequin. Oh and maybe mild death idk mostly Harlequin.
'How pathetic.'
The arlecchino knew the song and tune of the pierrot as if it were his symphony played in his mind. A venom, an envious green that drove him mad. But the tone of envy for a voice he could not use had died down. Pierrot had walked in with a look Harlequin had only ever seen on a visitor's face here and there. A blissful smile. A longing sigh. A desperate gaze, searching for a specific pair to look back.
Lovesick, he'd call it. Pierrot would call it love at first sight. Harlequin would gag, so he refrained from asking. But he knew. Anyone with a brain and a sense of independence would. Pierrot was in love, and he made it obvious. As if he were asking Harlequin to waltz in and steal away the little treasure he seemed to have found. One man's treasure was often his trash, but he wanted to play. And he'd find this little doll and play with it. Use the voice he was given to win over. Dolls preferred songbirds over silent stares, after all.
He'd play a lovely little tune and become a thief for a night.
~~~ Y/n arrived at work the next day, fiddling with their keys and praying to the sun to burn their skin off already. The lock was never once kind, and they almost gave up and waited for their boss before a gloved black and green hand placed a flyer on the glass. "Hey, dude, please don't advertise your circus on our glass," Y/n muttered, and a sharp voice lifted their consciousness far beyond what they were mentally capable of.
"Ahh, apologies, dear! I hadn't noticed where I placed it because of the radiance of the sunlight on your skin." This man in green and black spoke in a way that seemed to boast beyond word and sight. "This is the skin of a killer, Bella." "Ah... who?" "Nothing. Who are you?"
The strange man bowed deeply, his short black hair bouncing a bit due to the curls. "I, my dear, am the Harlequin. I am one of the more exceptional performers at the Circus of Horrors! Far more experienced in ways to bring delight and... pleasure than that Pierrot." "How did you know I spoke with Pierrot?" (Name) asked, confused and slightly dazed. It had not been a well-rested night for them. "He... spoke with you?" Harlequin asked, and (name) cursed under their breath before making up a good excuse. "Ah, no. My apologies, I'm just... tired. He simply managed to convince me to enter the circus. But he did demonstrate that there were multiple fools and Harlequins."
"Ah... he would be the type to lump me in with fools. How... immature of him." Harlequin sneered before walking around them and pulling their read ticket out from their breast pocket. "Well, could I interest you in a batter ticket? Something that would better suit tastes as refined as yours, I'm sure."
They stared at him, eyes narrowed. "How would you know my tastes?" Harlequin came up behind them, grabbing their wrists and pulling them close. They tensed immediately, although he didn't seem to notice... or care. "I can find out what could please you with a single brush of my fingers, my dear. Anything at all, of course. Simply... listen to me. Follow my words and the pleasure you'll feel will be astronomical."
Instead of pleasure or excitement, (Name) felt a faint... sneeze coming up. This guy carried a scent of pencil shavings and yet something remotely like candy apples and a subtle smell of coffee beans. He was an odd mixture of scents, and they overpowered your senses. If anything, the only thing making you dizzy with need was the need to get away from the thick scent he carried.
"Aha... no thanks, dude." They muttered; brow furrowed a bit. "I'm like... not into doing it in public. Take me to dinner first, as least. Or buy me a drink."
"Let me fix your ticket, and I'll happily do all that and more." He said, voice sweeter than honey before the ticket was plucked from his claws with an intensity.
Pierrot glared down at Harlequin, who held up his hands in surrender, a wicked smile on his lips.
"Ah, Pierrot. Don't mind me. I was only being polite." He sneered, as if realizing something, and placed his hands on his lips, leaning forward a bit. "Such a shame you can't speak, it means you can't say every nasty, cruel word in your head. Not in front of your dear... what's your name again?" Harlequin dragged a finger under the dhampir's chin, making them look at him.
".... (Name). My name is (Name)." They said, somewhat hoping he'd let go of them.
He didn't.
They were going to be late. They got up so early for this too. Damn.
"Can I... go to work?" They asked, but the two ridiculously tall men were arguing. Or rather Harlequin was teasing and Pierrot was planning to jump him.
They literally just earn minimum wage they are not paid to deal with this at 7:42 a.m.
"Well, Pierrot, I doubt they're interested in your lack of words." Harlequin said with a thin smile, ignoring how the white-haired clown looked like he was about to jump his ass.
Some voice called for Pierrot, and he gave them a worried look before going back to handing out fliers.
Harlequin chuckled, before leaning in close. Holy fuck he was tall.
His clawed hands grabbed their collar, pinning a green heart on the lapel as his nail dragged along their collarbone. "Keep me in mind. See my show tonight. Cheer me on, and I'd be delighted to take you for a special show backstage."
"... kay. Can I like... work now?" They hummed, and he moved to the side, his hand outstretched with a flourish.
They finally entered their workplace, seeing their boss, Nathaniel, watching with a curious expression on his face.
"Do you know those clowns?"
"Not at all."
"... oh?"
They didn't elaborate, going to the locker room, squeezing and empty bottle of pig's blood.
Well, fuck them.
This was going to be a looong day.
~~~
"This is not what I ordered! You dunce, can't you get a single order right?" A customer spat, and (Name) stared back blankly, their cheeks slightly sunken in. The customer, a woman with a tall stature and exaggerated heels, glared down at them.
"Sorry... asshole."
"What did you call me?"
"Avery. You said your name was Avery."
"... no I didn't."
They looked back down to their pad of paper, before the bell rang.
"Welcome in, customer. I'll be right over to take your order. Please take any seat you please." They forced a tight smile, before noticing Pierrot, and it became a genuine grin.
"Ah, Pierrot. I'll be right over, in a minute, please-"
"I'm still here, idiot!" The woman spat, scowling. "I want my iced macchiato low fat no cream extra sugar high protein dairy fat free recycled plastic beige coffee this instant! And don't you dare forget my gluten free egg free air free bread free cream free hashbrown stuffed muffin!"
(Name) used to be a circus performer. And before that, an aristocrat. Their dad was still alive, well, and wealthy. They did not need to be going through minimum wage customer service.
"I'll have that out in a minute, ma'am. I apologize for the mix up." They yawned, and the woman's anger flared, but they were already back to the counter.
As they worked, a golden pair of eyes went dark, tracing the woman's every movement. Her scowl, her impatient tap tap tap, her incessant anger. She was sharp with her anger. Obvious. Unfair.
(Name) looked exhausted, their usual, bright demeanor of the angel they were dimmed by such a woman. They didn't deserve that. If anything, Pierrot wanted them to experience the complete opposite of such suffrage. If he could... he'd show them the heights of pleasure, having them seeing stars. Having them touching the brink of it, only to do it all again, as much as they wanted.
"I'm not getting any younger!" The woman spat, grabbing the items from (Name)'a hands. She took a sip and scoffed, shoving it into (Name)'s tired, stretched out hands. "Ugh, disgusting! I'm never coming back here!"
Say you swear. "Ah, I'm so very sorry ma'am." They bowed their head, silently imagining sinking their fangs into her neck. They would never lose control to do something so drastic, but they liked to imagine unleashing chaos. Customer service does that to a dhampir, I suppose.
They watched her leave and dragged themselves back to the counter, turning to where Pierrot was. He was staring at the exit door, before turning and tapping on the menu for a milkshake.
"Oh, a milkshake? Sounds good. I'll get right on that for you. Which flavor?" His clawed finger pointed to their chest, and they grinned. "Well, I prefer (flavor). I'll get started on that, if you're willing to try it." He nodded, and they went ahead and made him a milkshake.
He took it in his grateful hands, sipping and slightly kicking his legs. He seemed to like it, which made them smile.
When he was done, he paid and gave them a small treat. They felt a warm blush on their face, and waved him goodbye.
What a sweet guy! He seemed weird at first, but it wasn't hard to warm up to him, especially with how sweet he was to them! Suddenly, the idea of watching his show seemed much more pleasant. It was meant to be a horror performance, but with a guy like him, it was hard to imagine just what could be so scary about him.
~~~
Hunting.
Pierrot was a great hunter, or so he was told. He never got caught, not when he planned it all out. He was stealthy. Being clumsy in public was necessary, in order to stay perceived as an innocent performer. He always performed.
But when he hunted?
The stage belonged to him.
And he would always take the spotlight.
The woman walked quickly, heels clicking as she decided to take a shortcut in the alley. Hah, it seemed like she wanted him to catch up. Like she knew she had disturbed an angel. A being who deserved the upmost respect. She knew what terrible sin she had committed.
The woman turned when she heard his step. Her face paled and lips parted, but she never made a sound.
Pierrot... never got caught.
~~~
Closing up was a mild ordeal. Ushering customers out and trying not to claw out of their own skin was never easy on days where they didn't have any blood to sustain themselves.
And at the end, Harlequin walked in, and they considered maybe sticking their own hand in the blender.
"Hello, how can I help- whatthefuck." They raised a brow as Harlequin leaned in close, his face holding a large, sick grin.
"An iced latte. With chocolate, please. As sweet an... tender as you." He whispered, almost sneering.
"... what the fuck man." Minimum wage was not enough for dealing with him. Could this be filed as harassment? Could they quit? Did they have a right to jump him in the parking lot?
All valid questions as they made the latte almost robotically, the joy sucked right out of them.
Well, they didn't have any, but that's beside the point.
"Here you go. Enjoy your drink."
"I will. And... may I enjoy seeing your eyes wander all over me later tonight?"
"No."
"We'll see."
"... whore." Woah, calm down (Name).
They closed up shop, taking off their apron and locking the door. They went out of the cafe, stopping by the butcher.
The butcher was a tall, muscular man.
"The usual?"
"Yeah."
"You must really like making that... what was it? Black pudding."
"... yeah."
The butcher handed the bag over, a good enough quantity. "See you next week, (Name.)
They nodded, before going outside. A quick dip into the alleyway let them bite into the bag, drinking deeply. They felt so much better now, refreshed and probably ready for the circus.
They walked up, seeing the crowd. A lot of yellow tickets, and a pink one or two, much less common. But not a single red ticket anywhere... huh.
"May I see your ticket?" The man in blue asked, his face split color.
They handed their ticket over, and he seemed amused, but simply punched it and let them in. "Enjoy your stay, visitor."
They walked in the circus lights bright and vibrant. Rides of all kinds, the scent of food, and noises of chatter. It was swarmed with people, and a few of the fools were around, patrolling the area.
A face, white as snow, peered from between gaps of darkness, smile on a porcelain face.
"Welcome... my dearest."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Guys I said treat cus I have a chocolate allergy be inclusive /j
This one is shorter cus I had to stop myself from jumping Harlequin guys sorry
The next chapter will include the circus probably and Mommy Jester
If you'd like to be tagged, go ahead and ask or comment that you'd like to be added :))
Okay I'm going to bed goodnight
Taglist: @zalladane @starburrybee @onyxthefrostmoo @randompanther17
