Yay chapter 2!
Midnight Run-In
CHAPTER 2
Ashton woke up surprisingly refreshed. His head was a little foggy, but he quickly remembered his little guest that he found last night. He sat up and looked into the shoe box on his nightstand, happy to find the little guy still laying there. Thank god it wasn’t a dream. He didn’t want to look at him for too long because it would be weird if he woke up and saw him staring, so he stood up and quietly walked out to the kitchen.
***
Tyler woke up to booming footsteps. It wasn’t weird to hear them in the walls, so he didn’t pay them much attention. But they sounded a lot louder and closer than usual. He abruptly sat up and looked around, noticing that he was definitely not in the walls. He was surrounded by… cardboard? And he could see the ceiling of the bean’s house. What happened? He didn’t remember getting caught, only that he borrowed a biscuit and some pasta and then… the bean woke up.
‘I fell off the bookshelf… How am I not fucking dead?…’
The bean.
'Did it…catch me? No, no that’s impossible. I would be dead by now if it did… right?’
His train of thought was cut off by the loud footsteps once again coming his way. With a jolt he quickly laid back down, and stopped moving completely. Maybe it won’t bother me if it thinks I’m asleep, he thought.
***
Ashton got a little scared when the little guy didn’t wake up after 9 AM. He was already up for an hour now, and he was admittedly getting a little bored. He got up and walked into his room, and looked into the box on his nightstand. The little guy was still asleep, laying still. Strangely still.
'Oh no, is he..’ Ashton slowly reached into the shoe box and ran a finger down the guy’s back, sighing in relief as the other moved away from his touch. 'Oh, thank goodness. He’s still alive.’
“You almost gave me a heart attack there lil’ buddy,“ he whispered.
But his ‘buddy’ only curled up in a ball.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you.”
That only made his small form curl up even more. The sight made Ashton’s heart ache, so he reached out once more to comfort him.
***
'Why is it touching me?! And why is it talking to me?!’ His mind was screaming at him to move, or yell, or at least do something. He opened his eyes and immediately regretted it, seeing the bean reaching right for him. He screamed at the top of his lungs, hoping the human would get the hint and leave him alone.
“Whoa-whoa, it’s alright buddy”
'Buddy? BUDDY?! What the fuck?!’ While he was confused by the bean’s words, the giant hand reached closer to him and wanted to touch his back again.
He quickly noticed, and yelled a sharp “NO!” at the human. 'Fuck, I just broke the rules. Fuck, fuck, fuck!’
“Oh god, sorry, I’m not going to hurt you. Oh geez, I’m sorry!” The bean was… Apologising? 'No, no that’s impossible. Right?’ He took a quick glance at the human, still very close to him, but the bean saw him staring. 'Oh fuck.’
“Oh, sorry!” and the bean looked away.. 'What the actual fuck is happening? Is this some kind of nightmare?’ The bean looked at him again, and quickly sat down on the bed. 'Oh god, what is it planning? Is it going to torture me? Kill me?…’
But none of that came. They only sat in heavy silence, Until the human broke it.
“So, uh, can you talk?“
Tyler paled. What could he say to this? If he said yes, then the bean will want him to tell everything about borrowers, for sure. But if he said no, then the bean could get angry and force him to talk. There’s no good outcome to this! He was so scared right now, even though he didn’t want to admit it. So the borrower only did a small nod, not risking his words.
“Oh, okay. That’ll make things easier then!”
'What things is it talking about?? This won’t end well, I can feel it.’
“My name’s Ashton, but you can just call me Ash. What’s yours?”
The borrower blanked. Is this bean crazy? Apologising, then asking for his name, and not touching him? This is weird… Very weird. He could only stare at the human, because he didn’t want to break the rules even more.
“Oh, it’s alright, you don’t have to tell me right now. You can tell me when you’re comfortable.“
'Huh. That…actually sounds comforting- Wait, no! This is still a bean! They always tell lies, this must be a trap!’
“Do you want to eat breakfast? I could make something quick for us.”
'Us? Did it just say us? This bean is getting weirder and weirder.
“I’m going to stand up, alright?“
'Oh, god.’
***
He slowly stood up, but instantly regretted it; the little guy only curled up even more, and looked at him with a horrified expression.
'Am I really that horrifying?’ Ashton thought with a small wince.
“I’m going to pick up the box. Uh, brace yourself.”
Silence.
'Of course he’s not going to talk, he’s terrified of you! Oh gosh, this is going to be hard.’
He slowly reached for the box, and carefully lifted it up. The box’s occupant looked like he was going to black out again and Ashton didn’t want that, so he started talking to him soothingly;
“It’s alright buddy, I’ll put you down in a second. You’re doing great.“ That seemed to work, even if only a little.
When he arrived in the kitchen, he immediately put the box down.
***
Tyler released a breath, he didn’t even know he was holding. He was on solid ground again. 'Fuck, I’m gonna die for sure. I’ll probably be breakfast.’
“I’m going to make us some eggs. Does that sound good?“ Tyler barely heard the words, but he nodded nevertheless.
'It’s not cooking me, that’s good. I might be able to escape while it’s not looking.’ Taking a glance around he realized he was really close to the loose tile that served as his exit. Maybe he could run back home? But what if-
His train of thought was cut short, when the bean quickly reached towards him.
“NO, PLEASE!” He flung his arms up, to protect his head, even if he knew that wouldn’t help him from the human’s attack.
“WHOA-whoa, what’s up?”, the bean looked down at him in confusion, before the realisation bloomed across its face.
“Oh god, I’m sorry little guy. I didn’t mean to scare you! I was just reaching to get a bowl for the eggs, I swear!”
Those reassuring words might have worked if he didn’t almost get a heart attack from the bean’s quick movements. 'How the fuck can something that big be so fast? Fuck, I’m really going to die here.’ Now he started thinking, his mind going down the darker paths. He was most likely going to die here. Alone. At the hands of a bean. 'Oh for fuck sakes, don’t cry. I said don’t- oh you fucked this up.’
***
'Oh Ashton, what are you doing? You made him cry again! Okay, breakfast can wait, you have to talk to him.’
“Shh-shh, its alright bud, I’m not going to hurt you. And I don’t want to scare you either. I’m really sorry about all that.” He unconsciously started to reach closer to the lil’ guy, until his fingers were inches from him. He very slowly started to stroke his back, and he made a tiny squeak when he realised that Ashton was touching him. But nothing else. No screaming. No crying out. Nothing. 'You’re doing something right this time’, he thought.
“See? I wouldn’t even dream about hurting you.” he whispered.
***
'I-what’s happening? What should I do? WHAT SHOULD I DO?!’ The bean was… soothing him? But he couldn’t understand why.
He didn’t know what to do with the situation. This isn’t a normal thing for a human. He should be dead by now! …But he isn’t. This bean is different. Very different than what the stories tell you about.
“M-my…my name’s T-Tyler”, he whispered.
“You said something? Sorry I couldn’t hear you… “
'Of course it didn’t, that was only a small whisper! C’mon don’t be such a baby!’
“I s-said… My name’s Tyler.” The borrower spoke up once more, a little louder this time.
'Aaand now pray that it won’t kill you.’
“Oh! Wow, it’s really nice to meet you Tyler!”
'Ugh, I regret it already.’
The bean released its fingers from his back and slowly extended its index finger in front of him. He looked up to it with a very confused look, but the bean only chuckled.
“What? I just thought this was a better way to do a handshake.”
'OH MY FUCKING GOD. I have to touch its finger?! I don’t want it to get angry at me if I don’t. Okay-okay. You got this.. you got this.’
Tyler slowly extended his right arm, since the other was in a sling tied to his shoulder and neck, and put his hand on the very large finger. His entire hand barely covered the giant fingertip, but nevertheless he gave it a couple shakes and withdrew his arm.
'Did I really just fucking do that?’ he berated himself internally.
***
“So… Uh, this might sound rude, but what are you?” the little guy- Tyler looked very scared and surprised by his question. 'Okay, that was probably very rude.’
“You know what, you don’t have to answer that.“ Instantly every ounce of fright was washed away from his little face. 'Okay, okay, you can bring this back.’
“Oh, uh-thanks..” Came a timid reply
'Oh my goodness, he talks to me now!’
“No need to thank me, dude.” Dude? Did you just call him dude? Oh this won’t end well.
“You know what? I’m going to start working on our breakfast. You can ask me questions, though. If you have any.” He only received a small nod, but that was more than enough. They we’re talking now. And that was all that mattered.
