Butterfly (Part 2)
Archie Hopper x teen!reader
MASSIVE TRIGGER WARNING for self harm
Note: I have no idea why but tumblr was limiting how long my fic was so I just split it in half. Hope you guys like part 2 :)
Y/N sat on the edge of the hospital bed as Dr. Whale cleaned her cut. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to whimper as he brushed over it with a warm washcloth. The cut wasn’t that deep but it still stung.
“It’s okay, Y/N. I know it hurts, you don’t have to hide it.” The tone in his voice was gentle. It calmed her a bit. “I’m not going to ask you any questions, Dr. Hopper will be here any minute and he’ll handle that. But Y/N, not that I’m condoning this or anything, you need to be more careful. Any deeper and you could’ve been seriously hurt, and I take it you never cleaned out the rest of these cuts which is dangerous,” he said, gesturing to the cluster of marks on her thighs.
“Usually they’re smaller, my hand slipped,” she mumbled, looking up to see Archie through the glass wall and door. The sting of anxious nausea hit her stomach and she flinched away from Dr. Whale’s hand on her leg. He took the hint and put away the washcloth.
“I’m going to go get him, okay?”
Y/N nodded. Her heart started beating faster as Archie walked in the door. She wanted to get up and run away but she couldn’t run from him now. Her eyes started to fill up with tears, she couldn’t look at him as he sat down on a chair next to the hospital bed. She instinctively covered up her leg with her arms.
“Y/N, can I see?”
She still didn’t look up at him. But she pulled up her skirt enough to show the newest cut as well as the old ones. Archie stood up and came closer so he could see. He brushed his fingertips over some of the old cuts, being careful not to touch the new one.
“Y/N—“
“Archie please don’t hate me,” Y/N whimpered. She tried to keep herself from crying but the tears started to spill over and her voice broke.
Archie fought back his own tears now. “Oh, Y/N, sweetheart,” his own voice broke as he wiped her tears away with his thumb. “I could never hate you. Come here.”
Y/N stood up and practically melted into Archie’s embrace. He just held her as she cried into his chest.
“Y/N, why did you do this to yourself?” Archie asked, letting her go so they both could sit down.
Y/N took a deep breath. “I don’t know how it started, really. But now when my emotions get overwhelming, mostly when I’m anxious, it’s like there’s this buildup that I have to release.”
“And the pain from cutting yourself is how you do it,” Archie finished. “What we need to work on doing is finding a healthier way to work through these urges.” Archie grabbed a pen out of his jacket pocket. He gestured towards her leg. “Here, may I?” Y/N nodded. He started to draw a little butterfly on her leg, in one of the few spaces left free of scars.
“What’s this for?” Y/N asked.
“I want you to keep this butterfly alive for as long as you can. It’ll probably get washed away in he shower, but as soon as you feel an urge again draw a butterfly on again instead. As a reminder that things will get better,” Archie put the pen away.
“What if the butterfly doesn’t work?” Y/N asked, looking up at him.
“Then you call me and we’ll work through it. I’m here for you, Y/N.” He took her hands. “One last thing. I want you to always be honest with me. I can’t help you if you keep this kind of stuff from me.”
The tears started to well up again. “I’m sorry,” Y/N whimpered, guilty. “I was scared, I thought you would be mad and I didn’t want to disappoint you but that’s what I ended up doing anyway so I guess it doesn’t matter—“
“Hey,” Archie wiped away her tears again. “I will never hate you, I won’t be mad, I’m on your side, okay?”
Y/N nodded. “Okay.”
Archie hugged her again. As soon as his arms wrapped around her she felt all of her built up emotions release, but instead of it being a rush it was more like a breath of fresh air.
“Now you keep that butterfly alive, Y/N. I believe in you.”