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olsenmyolsen · 3 months

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Dinner with Scarlett, Brunch with Geneva, and a Tracklist with Fans

Part 42 of On The Inside With Elizabeth Olsen

Word Count: 6.6K

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Thank you once again to JPmarvel90 for the use of their character Jess Parker (from My Best Friends Sister). They're a great author and a kind person. Show them love, and I hope you enjoy this chapter <3

Scarlett POV

"What are you laughing about?"

I look up from my phone to see Colin holding our baby boy, Cosmo.

"Lizzie and Y/N at the premiere." I look down at my phone and miss the confused look Colin has on his face. "You're laughing at our friends?"

He walks into my home office and looks over my shoulder as Cosmo babbles. "Look." I hold my phone up to him to show him a series of tweets about Y/N's phone wallpaper.

"No way!" Colin says in disbelief.

I nod and snicker as I look at a few more tweets before turning my phone over.

"So what's up?" I turn in my chair and look at my husband and son. The latter giggles as I poke his tummy.

"Not much," Colin says. "Coz and I were just missing Mom." He looks down at our son in his arms. "Isn't that right, buddy?"

Cosmo just smiles.

"Well, Mom is right here!" I blow a kiss to Colin and Cosmo. "But Mom is busy. She has to get ready for a meeting!"

"With Kate?" Colin asks, earning a nod. "With our Sephora launch and starter kit, it's just a lot of expanding."

Colin begins to walk to the office door. Humming to Cosmo. "I shouldn't be too much longer!" I say only to revive a laugh. "Scar, it's fine. Take as long as you want. I was coming to hang out and to remind you that Jess Parker is coming over tonight."

I freeze in my tracks and look away from my open laptop.

"No, Liz and Y/N are coming over tonight..."

Colin tilts his head. But he has a look that I hate to see.

He might be right.

"Are you sure?" Colin asks. I nod. "Here, I'll call Lizzie." I grab my phone and find Lizzie's contact. I place her on speaker and wait as the sound of ringing fills the room.

I look up, and Colin looks from his phone. He's texting someone.

Jess. He mouths.

"Oh, Hey, Scarlett!" I hear Lizzie's voice, and just by the tone, I can tell she's smiling.

"Hey, Lizzie! How are you and the rockstar!? Did you see the news??" I smirk and swivel in my chair.

"Yeah, no, I saw Y/N's wallpaper."

I laugh. Y/N's totally gonna get it later from me and Lizzie.

Wait, that sounded dirty.. but I mean... have you seen those two?

"Hey, so sorry to call right after your premiere, but I was just wondering if you and Y/N were still on for dinner?"

"Yeah, of course, we're still on for dinner! Why did something come up?"

I look up to Colin. "Umm.." He flips the phone to face me, and I see a text exchange between him and my friend Jess. With the words: "Yep, I'll be there!"

"Shit," I say. "Shit?" Lizzie repeats back. "No! No.. Sorry! I- I double booked."

"Huh?" Lizzie says, making me quietly laugh. "I double booked dinner tonight with you and Y/N and my friend Jess Parker."

The other side of the line goes quiet.

"Jess Parker? The Jewelry maker? She's your friend?" Y/N speaks up for the first time all call.

"Yes?" I answer, unsure of where this is going, but I quickly find out when Lizzie brings the phone closer to her mouth.

"Scarlett Ingrid Johansson, do you mean to tell me you are friends with Jess Parker, and this has never come up? Not once? You've never once thought to introduce her to her very fashionable friend! Someone who walks the red carpet with you!"

"And me!" Y/N pipes up again.

I gulp. It's clear I've made a mistake.

I look up to Colin only to find him gone. The door to my office closed.

"I- uhhh..."

Before I can even say or think of any words to say, it's like in a blink of an eye, somehow I've time traveled, and I'm in a long sundress while I carry Cosmo to answer the front door for our first guest of the evening.

My long-time friend Jess Parker.

In a way, she's been like a sister to me. Sorry, Vanessa. But we've always been close. Not many people know that the reason I took the role in The Nanny Diaries was because of her.

And while living across the pound for some odd years, she has always been a sound support system. But now that she's back in New York after a long 18 months, it'll be nice to catch up. Oh, and to warn her that she's famous no matter how little she believes me.

I mean, Lizzie and Y/N want a piece of her work, apparently.

Oh shit, that means I have to warn Jess about them coming over too.

But before I can say anything, I'm pulled into a side hug by Jess just before she scoops up Cosmo from me. For a baby who normally screams his head off when someone new takes him, he remains quiet.

"You look so good!" Jess says as she takes her shoes off and looks back at me. Her English accent still on her tongue.

"You too!" I easily reply as I look her up and down. "Love the top!" Jess gives a little shake of her head that says, "eh."

She never was the best about compliments. Her and Lizzie are the same that way.

"So Scar, do you wanna tell me why you were trending earlier?"

Liz POV

Y/N and I are about to arrive in front of Scarlett's when Y/N looks up from her phone with a smile. "What's up?" I ask.

"I just can't believe it's almost here."

I can see on Y/N's phone that she just read an email from her label, which probably led to Y/N thinking about her livestream tomorrow night.

"Is the studio set up?" I question her about the set up the label put together for Y/N. Basically, the idea for the cover of the album started when Y/N had a dream about her and I on a beach flipping tarot cards.

Hence the original name of the album: tarot cards on the beach.

She described it as the most nerve-racking dream she has ever had, and I'm still unsure why.

But when she woke me up to tell me about it. I remember being cranky in the moment but ultimately happy for her.

Duh.

She then immediately got into contact with her old friend Cyrus and had the label commission a giant canvas of what the album would look like. It's going to be revealed live for the first time at midnight tomorrow, followed by Y/N sharing the tracklist.

I can only imagine her smiley, cute face when she sees the finished product.

Y/N nods. "Yeah, that's what the email was about. They have everything ready to go."

"Even the cards and CD's?" I raise an eyebrow. "Even the cards and CD's." She states.

Following the tracklist reveal, the studio wants Y/N, aka hex, to autograph specially made tarot cards that will go into the CDs for the first 500 people that preorder.

I promised to massage her hands for as long as she wanted after it was done.

"What?" Y/N asks, making me realize that I've been staring at her face. Her perfect face. "Do I have something on my face? Because I know you told me not to snack at the hotel, but I still did it."

I laugh and pretend to wipe crumbs off her lips before leaning in and kissing her.

"You're perfect."

"You're still cheesy." She says. "Learned it from you," I reply and look down at her outfit.

Since it's dinner with Scar, we didn't decide to go clits to wall decked out like we would if it was the twins. We know Scar and Colin are busy with baby Coz, so the fewer clothes that could get messy, the better.

Wait- basically, what I'm saying is that we're just going as cute casual! I'm in brown boots, jeans, and a long black sleeve, while Y/N is wearing wide-ankle khakis, her vans, and a long maroon button-up.

I wasn't sure about the outfit, but she picked it out, and knowing Y/N, she'll be trying to color with Rose anyways, so who cares.

"I like what you're wearing." I look back up to Y/N's eyes and slowly lean in. She does the same until our lips touch again.

"I think the label will push for an August release," Y/N says as she leans her head on my shoulder. "It's still summer, but I was expecting July."

"August is still good, right?" I ask, unsure of what Y/N really wants. "It is." She says. "I think I'm just ready to start some shows because every time I think about performing, I wanna throw up."

That's right.

She's going to be on the road sooner rather than later.

"Well, I'll be there with you," I say and hold her close. But Y/N chuckles, confusing me. "What?" She leans up and fiddles with the ring on her right hand. "I know you'll be there, and I love that, but I know you, and I don't want you to put off filming for me."

I look at her as if she doesn't see through me.

"What do you mean?" I look away from her eyes and clear my throat. "Liz..." She sighs. "I know about Azazel reaching out to you." I found her eyes, and they light up. "We both know I will probably be on the road if people want me to be. So please take any offer that comes your way. I'm mar- I'm in love with Elizabeth Olsen, the greatest Emmy-winning actress of our generation. Not Elizabeth Olsen, the-"

"Y/N." I stop her. "I get it." She leans in and kisses my nose, making me giggle. "Thank you." She says.

The car rolls to a stop in front of Scarlett's, and before Y/N moves away from me, I thank her for always being supportive and caring.

She said, "No, you." before jumping out of the car while laughing.

Y/N POV

"Oh shoot. Should we have brought wine or chocolates or anything?" I turn to Liz just after ringing the doorbell. She looks back at me with a look that says yes.

Shit.

"We should go." I turn my heels to walk away, but Liz grabs my arm and spins me around. "I think it's too late for that." We both know that, but it's not confirmed until the door swings open, and instead of a short blonde greeting us, it's an even shorter blonde.

"Auntie Lizzie!" Rose runs and jumps out of the doorway to Liz's legs with arms outstretched but stops when she sees me. "Auntie Y/N!" She squeals, making me smile.

Her and I are entirely different with one another since our first meeting.

But just like that, Lizzies runs as favorite aunt ends. I see the defeat on her face as the scorned look in her eyes washes over mini Scarlett and I, but- wait, what did Rosie say?

"Huh, Rose?" I ask as I bend down the child by my side. "I said you have to meet my favorite Auntie ever, JP!"

I look at Liz, who looks back to me. Who the hell is JP??

"Rose!" All three of our attentions turn to Mama Bear Scar as she steps out of the house to take Rosebud from me and place her on the ground. "How many times have I told you not to open the door?"

Rose hangs her head. Clearly, knowing that she shouldn't open the door without an adult present. "But I know it was Auntie Lizzie and Y/N." Rose cries.

Scarlett gets onto her knees in front of her daughter. "Rosie, look at me." Rose turns her head to look at her mother. Liz and I watching this interaction like statues. "I know that you know it was them. And that, yes, they are safe people, but still, it is better to be safe than sorry. I'd hate for anything to happen to you." Rose nods. "I love you." Scarlett pulls her daughter close and smiles when a smaller, quieter "I love you too." happens.

Rose pulls out of the hug and looks at her mom. "Can I hang out with Auntie Liz and Y/N?" She asks, earning a nod from Scarlett. "Yes, you can."

And just like that, I have Rose by my side as she points at every little thing in the hallway as if I've never been here before.

"Is that a chatterbox I hear?" Another woman's voice surprises Liz and me as we enter the kitchen. As soon as our eyes see the person, we immediately remember. "Auntie JP! Look, I brought friends!" Rose smiles proudly and makes a grand gesture with her arms.

"I see that!" Auntie JP, aka Jess Parker, says as she comes up and makes a goofy face at Rosie before turning to Liz and I. "Hi!" She says as she extends her hands to Liz first. "It's nice to meet you finally." Jess smiles widely at Liz as Liz returns the greeting.

Rose watches the interaction with glee as Jess turns to me. "You must be Y/N." She extends her hand to me as well before leaning closer to whisper: "Scarlett, let it slip that you have a huge crush on her."

Immediately, I groan and turn around to the older woman, but she puts her hands up. "Hey, look at Twitter and tell me what's true!" I roll my eyes away to see Colin laughing as he fixes Liz a drink. "Yeah, yeah, keep laughing, Jost."

I narrow my eyes before Rose grabs onto Jess and I. "I want to show you my new coloring book! It's in my room!" Liz turns her head at this. "Can I come, Rose?" Rose thinks before walking away. "No, thank you."

As comedic as Rosie is, I see Liz's face falls. So, instead of having Rose pull Jess and me away, I crouch down to her. "Hey, Rosie, how about you go grab all your art supplies and books, and we can color them at the table before we have to get ready for dinner. How does that sound?"

Rose thinks and agrees before pouting a little. "Can you see my room later, too? I got some of new toys of momma."

Jess crouches next to me and nods to encourage Rose. "That sounds great." Rose nods and runs to grab her things.

"Drink?" Colin asks as I turn around. "Yes, please," I say as I stand by my wife sitting at the kitchen island. "Damn, I can't believe I'm old news now." Liz jokes as Scarlett brings in baby Cosmo. "I doubt that," I say as I kiss the top of her head. Liz shrugs. "You and Jess seem to have it pretty covered."

From the tone, I can tell there's more under the surface.

But before anything can spill from my mouth, Scarlett hands me a babbling baby boy. "Carefully, he's rigged to blow any minute." I grimace but hold Cosmo steady. "Gee, thanks." Scarlett winks at me. "Want me to talk to her?" Scarlett asks Liz in regards to Rosie. Liz lightly laughs and shakes her head. "She's a kid. She's fine."

Scarlett gives a flat smile as Colin places a drink before me and Jess across the island.

"Be honest..." Scarlett starts. "How many pictures of Natasha do you have on your phone?"

I sigh. "I don't know. Enough to have a folder..." I shrug. This only makes Scarlett smile wider. "Can I see?" She wiggles her eyebrows. "I'd die before I let that happen."

Scarlett looks me up and down. "Put me in a red wig, and I think you would."

I look around the room and see no help on the defense. My girlfriend sips her drink, knowing that she'd rather sit with jealously than engage in between Scarlett and I.

"So Lizzie..." Jess speaks up. "You had a movie premiere today, and now you're here? Slumming it with us? What's up with that?" Scarlett watches her friend tease effortlessly with a smile, and as my girlfriend answers, I watch Scarlett's eyes shift from one friend to the other.

I had no idea Scarlett even knew of Jess Parker, but looking at them side by side, I can see a similarity between them.

I tune into the conversation just as Liz speaks my mind. "Well, what about you, Miss Jess Parker! Word has it closed up shop, but after eighteen months, you're here slumming it with us! I had no idea Scarlett, and you were so close! I mean, I know you designed the Infinity Gauntlet piece Scar wore at the Endgame premiere, but..." I chime in. "We could've used your jewelry on the red carpet earlier this week."

"And tonight!" Scarlett makes a point.

Jess smiles and takes a sip of her Moscow mule. "Basically, I missed home."

"New York?" I question. Jess nods. "I was overseas with my Dad and stepmom, taking time off to find myself." Scarlett pipes up as she wraps an arm around Jess. "A horrible ex who never have to speak about ever again." Jess nods and gags. "The worst. But yes, now I'm back home. Close to Scar again-"

"I'm sorry." I interrupt. "How long have you and Scarlett known each other?"

Scarlett takes the question.

"We grew up together." This information shocks Liz and I, but my mouth works faster than I can stop the words. "Cool. And you never meant to mention this??"

"Babe-" Liz tries to stop me while laughing. "Liz, we could've been wearing Jess Parker this entire time! Do you know how hot you would've looked with a Scarlet Witch Crown!"

I shake my head to make my thoughts pure again.

Everyone laughs, including Cosmo, as he spits up disgusting me just as Rose enters the room, pretending to laugh like she knew what was going on. "Got 'em!" She says as she holds up her supplies and books.

"That's great, Rose! We'll meet you at the table." Rose happily turns to the table at Jess' words as Scarlett takes her baby from me.

"Well, rumor has it the shop might be open again." Jess makes a face to Liz and I as she sips on her drink with a grin before joining Rose.

"Oh, she's fun!" Liz says as she turns back to Scar and Colin. "Fun, huh?" I'm quickly met with a green-eyed glare. "Noted," I say as I take my drink to color with Rose and Jess.

"Wow, Rose!" I say as she is coloring a picture of The Black Widow. Jess coloring in Hawkeye. "I didn't know you had an Avengers book!" Rose looks up at me with an are you serious look. "Yeah." She says before handing me a page. "You can do this one."

It's a picture of The Scarlet Witch.

"I tried asking for it, but she wanted you to color it so you could give it to Aunt Lizzie," Jess says with a smile while also doing a pretty good impression of Rose that the child ignores. I look up at her and laugh.

"Thank you, Rose." I turn to the small blonde. "No problem." She replies.

"Hey, Rosie?" I say as I pick up a red colored pencil. "Yeah?" She looks at me. "I can do this picture, but I think Aunt Lizzie would really appreciate it if you made something for her that was an original piece."

Rose looks away as she thinks before grabbing a blank piece of paper. Paper that looks like she easily took it from a copier somewhere in this house. "Like flowers? She's pretty like flowers."

"Yeah. That's a good idea, Rose."

Pretty like flowers.

I immediately store that line in my head for another day.

As Rose gets to work on a 2-D paper bouquet for my girlfriend, I look up and see Liz fully engaged in a conversation about whatever Colin is talking about.

My eyes travel down her face to her hands.

"Hey, Jess?" I whisper before looking her way. "Yeah?" She whispers back with a smile. "Could I have your number?" Jess widens her eyes a bit before looking in the direction of the other adults. "That's kinda bold of you, don't ya think?"

I give her a confused look before hearing my own words. "Omg no." I continue whispering. "I heard a rumor that maybe your shop was open."

Jess makes an ah sound. "Yeah, and?" I take one last look up at Liz before turning to Jess.

"I'm thinking about a ring."

Jess' lips immediately curl up into a wide smile as she can't help it. "Omg yes!" She jots down her number on a piece of paper, and tears off the strip before tossing it to me. I quickly shove it into my pocket before anyone else can notice.

No one does, but the only person in between us. Rose.

I think nothing of it before remembering that kids talk about anything and everything, and my name and a ring would spill at some point.

"You're getting a ring?" She asks at kid volume, but luckily, no one else heard. "Yes," I whisper. "I want to get Aunt Lizzie a ring, but no one else can know about it." I plead with my eyes at the sweet little Rose.

She nods her head. "Okay." She says innocently enough as her red colored pencils makes contact with the page.

"Legos," She says moments later. "Legos?" I question, indirectly forcing Rose to grace me with her presence. "Legos for the secret."

Jess watches the shake-down happen.

I slowly nod. "Legos," I repeat, unaware that Liz and Scarlett were joining us at the table. "Legos! We're talking about Legos?!" Scarlett asks as she kisses her daughter's head before looking over Jess' drawing. "Yeah! Auntie Y/N said she's going to get me legos once the school year is over!"

Suddenly, all eyes are on me.

"If it's okay with you, Scar," I say as Jess holds back a laugh. Who knew kids were this scary!! Scarlett shrugs. "Sure. We love legos!"

"Legos! We're talking about Legos?!" Colin asks as he enters the room with a freshly changed Cosmo. "Old news, Jost, keep up!" Jess says, making me laugh as Liz sits down next to me.

"Ooh, now, who is this!" She grabs and holds up my colored page of her Marvel character. "I don't know, but she looks pretty hot!" I jump my eyebrows up as I get a playful eye roll back.

"Please, we all know who you really want." Scarlett bites back as she smirks at me.

God, damn Johansson and that smirk.

Dinner came and went with much harassment from Scarlett and her endless run of jokes. While funny, my cheeks might've been painted red by the end. Although I know for a fact she wasn't joking when she said she had a Black Widow suit upstairs.

I'm pretty certain my hand was going to break from how hard Liz was holding me.

Anyways, conversations flowed well, and Colin talked to Liz and me about SNL with Benedict this weekend and how fun that'd be. I then realized that I'd be in the same room with Benedict and how I would restrain myself from trying to get him to say penguin.

I also told Liz she should try hosting SNL, which was tabled for another time.

Jess also talked about how she'd love to make jewelry for Liz and me and our upcoming events—so stay tuned for that. _

"Babe, there's no way you're still jealous after last night!"

Liz scoffs as she pulls on the handle to the restaurant, letting me through first. "Jealous?" She scoffs again. "Who said I was jealous?"

"Me!" I point to myself with my thumb. "All because sweet little Rosebud wanted to sit next to me. Hang out with me. Only talk to me! All last night! You got stuck with a gassy Cosmo." I say with glee as we see William and Geneva stand up from their table in the corner of the restaurant to greet us. "Yeah, because Legos were promised. Oh, and let's not forget about Scarlett's friend!" Liz says as her jaw tightens. "And yes, Jess Parker was very nice. I'm glad Scarlett introduced the two of you. Being chatty and all." Liz says as she waves her hand around, and I know I'm immorally pushing the buttons here. Especially when I say. "Pretty, too."

Liz turns to me, and even through her sunglasses, I can see her glaring at me. "Stop, okay. Fine. Let's say I was jealous, but I have no reason to be right now because I'm Geneva's favorite."

I nod my head and agree. "Yeah... for now." I smugly say as I pass her to greet William first while she hugs Geneva before we switch. "Y/N, sit here!" Geneva pulls out the chair to the right of her. "Okay!" I say with a smile as I turn back to Liz to see her flummoxed.

She wasn't expecting that, but being the polite angel she is, she graciously pulls out the chair and sits across from Geneva.

"Hey, you two are matching!" William points out to Liz and Geneva, who are both wearing their LA Dodgers hats. "Yeah!" Liz says as she removes her sunglasses to glance at me. "I knew I had to match with Geneva today! You know..." She glances. "Had to make someone jealous."

Geneva laughs as she sees me roll my eyes.

William notices, too, but chooses not to comment on it.

"Oh. I hope it's alright, but I ordered a round of coffee for the table. I don't know what you two might've gotten up to last night."

Liz and I thank William and let him know that he's definitely speaking to the two most homebodied people who just so happen to have a certain celebrity status. This makes Geneva laugh again before asking Liz about her garden.

Liz happily answers any question Geneva has, and the conversation flows from one topic to another.

The waitstaff come by periodically, and it's always funny to see the different looks from the surrounding customers as they recognize us.

I know I saw a few phones take some pictures; it's annoying, but that's the life I want to have. It comes with a price. But anytime I did catch someone snagging a pic, I made sure to glare their way.

Not for me or Liz. But for Geneva. She's 15. She doesn't need to be posted all over the internet, first off. And secondly. I'm sure her being pictured with Elizabeth Olsen and myself would bring a particular stress she doesn't need.

"So, Geneva, how was the camping trip?" Liz finally asks the one question I know she has been keeping in her back pocket. And just like Liz said, Geneva's face lights up. "Oh my God, I have to show you pictures. It was so cool!"

As Geneva picks up her phone and begins scrolling, mine begins vibrating in my pocket. I think about checking, but I ignore it and choose to remain present in the conversation as Geneva's phone gets handed to me.

I lean over closer to Liz and begin swiping to the left on her photo album titled 🌲 Oregon Trip 🌲

"Oh my gosh, look at that one!" I say as we swipe by a selfie of Geneva at the top of a waterfall. "That's a stunning picture! Where is that?" Liz says as she looks up to Geneva, but her finger points to an object in the picture.

It's an LA Dodgers hat.

I nudge Liz with my leg under the table before handing Liz the phone to reach mine as it starts vibrating again.

"Sorry," I say to the group as I check the Caller ID: Bo.

"Shit," I say before looking at Geneva. "Sorry." She shrugs. "That's fine. I curse, too. Fuck. See?" She says deadpan before breaking out into a smile, making me and Liz laugh while her dad scolds her. "Honey, don't do that." She shrugs again.

"Who is it?" Liz asks as my screen goes black. "It's Bo." I think he's calling me back to give me the final word on what the album will be titled." I sigh. "I don't think the studio likes the I keep pushing back." Liz brings her hand gently onto my arm before rubbing it up and down. The action, while comforting, reminds me that we're not alone.

"Sorry. Geneva, you were saying?" I question, but William stops me. "Hey, if you have an important phone call, we're more than happy to wait or let you take it." I shake my head. "I don't want to be r-" Before I can finish my sentence, my phone starts vibrating on the table.

"Take it," Liz says to me with a pointed look. William nods in agreement. "Go! Don't worry, I'll have more photos to share!" Geneva smiles at me before focusing on her chocolate chip pancakes. "This place is always so good." She looks to her dad.

"Go." Liz practically shoves me out of my seat with love and care. I nod to the table and let them know that I'll "be right back." As I answer the phone.

"Hey, Bo!"

"You know I called you two other times."

"Uh oh, someone's cranky," I say as I wave to the hostess who waved at me. Good thing Liz didn't see that.

I hear Bo grumble on the other side of the call as I exit the restaurant and begin walking around the parking lot.

"I'm not cranky." He says. "Well then, let me guess, someone got Decaf this morning?" I know I hit the nail on the head when he doesn't immediately quip back. "Come on, who's your favorite!" I tease with a smile.

"Anyways..." He starts making me awww. "Would you like to know what happened in the meeting a few minutes ago, or should we keep joking around?"

Liz POV

As I look back from the hostess waving at Y/N, I'm met with the smirk of a 15-year-old.

"Does that happen a lot?" She asks before stabbing a strawberry with her fork. "Does what happen?" I ask, pretending to be clueless. "Girls throwing themselves at Y/N." Geneva dramatically falls onto the table.

William clears his throat as a warning to Geneva just in case she's crossing a line. But she's not. Because. "No. It doesn't."

Geneva makes a questioning hum.

"Okay, I'll bite. What?" I ask, tilting my head. But the teen just smiles and smirks again.

"Okay, Wanda." She takes a sip of her water. "I was just saying that you had a certain look of jealousy in your eye. I mean, I get it hex is very attractive-" "Geneva."

"Dad." She mocks back. "Elizabeth knows." I breathe out. "For the last time, it's Lizzie." I chuckle. "And yes, I do know. But that doesn't mean every girl throws themselves at Y/N."

(A/N: They do)

Geneva puts her hands up in surrender. "I was just saying." William leans over and apologizes for his daughter in a very teasing way, making Geneva defend herself, leading to her and her dad playfully arguing.

It's cute, but it does make me think about my father. It's been months since I've seen him or spoken to him, and yet I wonder what he's doing right now. I know he misses me, but is he truly sorry?

Y/N has moved on from how he treated her, but I can't.

He hurt me and someone I love—bottom line.

"Elizabeth?" Geneva pulls me out of my thoughts. "It's Lizzie." She smiles back, loving this back-and-forth we have. "Sorry." She makes a very sarcastic gesture as she rolls her eyes. "Lizzie?"

"Yes?"

"D-do you think.. Do you think Y/N would follow my Instagram?"

Okay, maybe Y/N IS everyone's favorite.

"I just love you and her so much. And since you don't have any social media anymore, it'd be really cool! Plus, I love her music! And we are all forming this fanfic kinda bond right now, so it seems like-" I hold my hand to let Geneva catch her breath.

I take a glance at William, who shrugs.

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind, but try asking her." Geneva nods and grabs her phone. "Okay!" She immediately gets up and runs out to speak to Y/N.

"Oh wait, Geneva.. I didn't... mean now... she's gone."

"And then there were two." William laughs as he leans back into the wooden chair of the restaurant. Rubbing the grey hairs, he has under his neck. "How long do you think she'll be?"

"I was just about to ask you." I chuckle while William smiles before leaning forward with his elbows on the table. He clears his throat before taking a full of coffee.

"This is a lovely place you and Geneva picked. I've never been here before." I say as my eyes dart around the fun interior. "Yeah. Geneva and I have been coming here since she was about 2." My eyes widen a bit. "Oh wow!"

William nods. "Course, she only remembers it only being just the two of us."

Oh!?

"There was someone else before?" I cautiously ask. Curiosity getting the best of me. William nods again. "Clara. Geneva's mother." There's sadness as he says her name.

"Excuse me for asking. But has she passed?" William doesn't take offense and only offers a shake of the head. "No." He sighs. "I don't think anything will kill that woman." Again, he rubs his shaven beard. "She's not in our lives."

"Oh.. By choice?" He nods. "Ours." Referring to him and Geneva. "Geneva has always been a bright girl. Smarter than me. Funnier than most. She's the type not to be afraid to show off what makes her, her."

I nod along to his words and smile. It's true. I barely know this father and teenager, but everything he's saying is true.

William takes a breath and sniffles as he continues speaking. "Clara did not like that. Especially when Geneva was discovering who she is." I raise my eyebrows and make an ahh noise.

"I used to work a lot more than I do now, so I was blind to it."

I tilt my head and bring my body forward against the table. When William moves his face upward, I can see the light of the morning sun bounce off the water in his eyes.

I hesitate to ask... "Did she ever-?" William stops me before I can finish. "She never laid a hand on her. But the verbal assault was enough." A shaky breath escapes him. "What kind of parent does that?" He asks me.

Once again. I can't help but think of my father.

"It only got worse when Geneva was brave enough to come out and tell us that she was gay." William clears his throat again. "And maybe another reason she did it was to show she wasn't going to change. Or maybe she did it because she truly thought it would change Clara."

William sighs with a shrug.

"Of course, I accepted her, and I thought my wife did too..." He shakes his head. Still hurt. "But one week later, she was trying to send our tween off to a conversion camp."

He pauses.

"I never looked at the person I married the same way after that." He picks up the napkin in his lap and runs it over his nose as I blink away the tears in the corners of my eyes. "I had a point when I started this, I promise." William cracks. "I could tell." I light-heartedly joke back. He smiles.

"Geneva is one hell of a kid. One in a million. And she likes you and your girlfriend. And hell, for some reason, it looks like you like us too." I smile and nod. "And she may look tough as nails, but she's still a kid, at least to me. My girl." He says. "So please be careful with her."

I nod with a sniffle."I can promise you that Y/N and I only want to be the best for her." I take a second. "She's a brave kid. She helped me be brave, too."

William smiles.

"Jesus..." I ran a hand through my hair. "It sounds like we're adopting her." William belly laughs at that.

Y/N POV

"They pushed. They want it to be like a real debut album. And since this is more than an EP, they're making you go self-titled. hex." Bo says on the other side.

I sigh. This isn't the worst, and I know I should be grateful for this opportunity. So I breathe out and smile. "Okay. Timetable?" I ask.

"Late Summer," Bo says as he looks at a stack of papers in front of him. "August."

I turn around when I feel the eyes of someone on me. I quietly laugh when I see an out-of-breath Geneva.

I quickly wave to her as she waves back.

"And did they say anything about a tour?" I raise an eyebrow with interest.

I hear Bo go quiet.

"Ten shows to start. With you going self-titled, your livestream tonight and if depending on your sales once released, they'll add more."

I nod to his words, but I hate the roadblocks I have placed in front of that I must maneuver to please men in suits.

"But you get to pick where you want the tour to start."

It makes me smile because I instantly think about my Dad and where to play. "Nashville. Anywhere you can fit me."

When the call ends minutes later, Geneva politely holds her phone out to me, and I press follow.

Saturday Morning May 7th

Billboard Today "Fans of newcomer hex showed up in force just after midnight last night to see the drop for the tracklist to the artist's debut album. The livestream,which many thought was going to be small, was watched by over 200,000 people. Oh, and what about the songs, you ask? It looks like the album is going to be a solid eleven songs. But just before signing off,hex let it slip that there may be more in the future. Deluxe album, maybe?"

PopCrave "Artist hex debuted their tracklist for their debut album hex last night to awaiting fans. Check out the photo below from the livestream!" photo

MusicStarsNow "In a series of tweets starting with a profile picture change. Artist hex shows fans who missed last night's livestream the painting of the album cover commissioned by a friend of the artist Cyrus Wilcott. Followed by eleven tweets. Each one being a track title with short information about the song. However, the final tweet only contained the song title. Other than that, no release date has been given, but we hope for a summer release!"

Twitter

A/N: Hey, everyone. Sorry, this took a while! But it's here now with a lot going on! The next chapter will probably skip to the time the album drops. So see you next time! I hope you enjoyed it! Be safe, and drink some water!

Also, below is the real tracklist Fake album. Real songs. ________________________________

Track#. Track Name . (Real Artist)

________________________________

hex by hex . 1. Too Bad . (King Princess)

2. My Silver Lining . (First Aid Kit)

3. Nashville . (CMAT)

4. The Last One . (First Aid Kit)

5. Hospital . (Madison Cunningham)

6. Oh Wasn't It Fun . (hex)

7. Graves . (Hand Habits)

8. Always, Joni . (Trousdale)

9. Big Time . (Angel Olsen)

10. Leaning On You . (HAIM)

11. Wishful Thinking . (Gracie Abrams)

21 notes · View notes

ticklish-touch · 1 year

Text

Trapped in the Backrooms Ch2: Persuasion

(Ragaeli x lee!Y/N - Consensual chasing & tickling, non-romance CW: Strong language, Liminal spaces, hypnosis, elevatophobia) Shenanigans continue while you and Ragaeli continue to search for a means of escaping the world of the Backrooms. The elaborate hotel you’ve found yourself in has a surprisingly relaxing - albeit eerie - atmosphere. But something else here wants you to check in as an esteemed guest... Forever.

( Chapter theme(s): Jazz playing in another room: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go358GrFqa “Trust in Me” - Scarlett Johansson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEgkBetZY-M “Catgroove” - Parov Stelar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXrdYwG17PE )

It was a nice change of scenery, going from dingy yellow wallpaper to a fancy vintage 1940's hotel plaza. The lobby itself was enormous. You got up from the comfy loveseat to take a look around, spotting a reception desk all the way across the room. Heading up to it, there were no signs of any staff; just rows of small lockers on the back wall, and a couple desk lamps. Well... Time to look around and see what other craziness the Backrooms had in store for you and your Nightmare buddy.

Heading down the hallway to the first floor, you admired the various decor. Fancy floral carpets, cushioned mahogany chairs placed just outside glass doors that led to... Well, nowhere. Peeking in, the hallways stretched on infinitely, leading to pitch blackness. You considered braving one of them, but... Maybe not yet. It sounded like others were here: there were distinct sounds of whispers, distant conversations, jovial laughter, and... was that smooth Jazz? But any attempts to call out with “Hello? Is someone else here?” fell on deaf ears.

You eventually came to a stairwell leading up to the next floor, the wood creaking below you while you made your way upstairs. There were no signs anywhere indicating how many stories or rooms there were, but you wanted to at least investigate. Most doors to the guest rooms were closed, but were almost always unlocked. Peering inside some of them, you noticed the same recurring vintage aesthetic. It almost felt homey. ...If not for the layers of dust coating almost every piece of furniture.

You wandered into one, curiously peeking through some of the dressers and closets. The light leaking in through the windows made you feel... Uncomfortable. You weren't sure why. Maybe it was because you couldn't actually see anything outside of them; just a wall of grey, like a foggy overcast sky. You decided to close some of the curtains; it helped ease your mind a little. You poked around in some of the dresser and closet doors, not finding anything except old, eroding photos of people in 1940′s-era clothing. And missing faces.

Aside from the isolated halls, it didn't feel as unsettling here as your previous escapade. Still eerie, but oddly welcoming. You somewhat wanted to try and find the voices that were always just out of reach, seeming to come from nonexistant rooms, to join them in their conversations and dance along to the music. The only thing making you genuinely nervous were the occasional elevators you passed by, lit by a similar sickly yellow light as the first environment. Those old-timey metal cages always seemed like death traps... But otherwise, it was actually quite peaceful here. There seemed to be no sign of any dangerous entities. Until something caught the corner of your eye, making you freeze up.

A door to a nearby open room was half-opened, the space filled by a pitch pitch-black wall blocking the entrance, with a pair of eyes and a wide smile peeking out at you. You would've assumed it was Rags, but it looked different; the teeth were those of an omnivore, and the eyes were white and reflective, like the eyes of a cat or raccoon at nighttime. "Uh...Hi..?" You waved over to it. You had a gut feeling that you shouldn't get too close. So you crept by on tiptoe, not tearing your gaze away from the face until you were safely around another corner.

"Smart move." A strange voice whispered, sounding like it was coming from inside the nearest wall and making you jump. What the hell?? It was almost a whisper, a double-voice that was neither feminine nor masculine... Was that the shadow creature speaking? You didn't stick around long enough to identify it, quickly making your way to the end of a hall and ducking into a room with an open door.

Now might be a good chance to take a breather... At least until something stared out at you from the darkness again. Plopping down on one of the beds brought you a sigh of relief; It was actually very comfortable. The musty smell wasn't too great, but nothing too distracting. You let your eyes droop shut; Not to nap, just to rest. You had a gut feeling that you should not fall asleep here.

Without the constant flood of adrenaline and anticipation, you had the chance to think a bit more about what Ragdoll had said when you first got here: The only way out of here was a rift in space-time. You didn't imagine there were many of those to come by. Though you had faith that, if anyone could find one, it'd be the Nightmare. He was beyond powerful enough, practically all-seeing.

But what if he couldn't?

No, you couldn't fall to doubt just yet. Maybe there was some way you could help your monster buddy. You could keep looking out for clues, or maybe there was someone somewhere in this realm you could try to talk to or reason with.

The moment of peace was short-lived. The sound of nails dragging across a nearby wall immediately made you open your eyes and jump upright, your eyes darting around to find the source. It crept closer and closer to the open door; you realized it was coming from the outside hallway. “Oh shit oh shit--” You hopped off the bed and backed up. “Ragman..?” No answer. If it was him, he'd at least respond with that gremlin giggle. So you weren't sure what to expect. Maybe you could lure it to the other side of the room... After a few more moments of silence, you decided to chance it and hurry out of the door, making it out unscathed.

It must’ve been a good twenty minutes since you arrived. More wandering through guest rooms and around zigzagging corners, more climbing stairs. More silence. Man, Ragioli was sure being quiet. Maybe he was busy doing his own bit of exploring. Every now and then, you could hear unintelligible whispering nearby, sounding like that strange double-voice you'd heard before. At first, you didn't dare turn around to look in its direction. But curiosity got the better of you, looking over to an open section of the wall... For a brief moment, you could swear you saw something move near it. Or inside of it. It almost looked like something invisible rippling in the air. A ghost, maybe...? Were there ghosts in this world? Maybe it was one of the 'guests' here.

You were getting real tired of stairs after the fifth floor, pausing in front of one of the elevators to consider your options. Do you dare chance it...? Something seemed to answer your thoughts; the elevator doors opened on their own. Gee, that wasn't ominous at all. Totally not a death trap. But you stepped inside anyways; It might be helpful to check out a few higher floors.

The number panel was almost incomprehensible. They weren't in any sort of order, some of them were blank, others had Greek and Unicode numbers. “Uhhh... Eeny, meeny, miney...” You pressed one of the Greek symbols at random. The elevator creaked and clattered on its way up. It was a slow, daunting ascent. You watched each passing floor through the cage; they all looked more or less the same; like that repeating illusion hallway back in the first location. Maybe Rags’ theory about this place being a simulation wasn’t too far off. You leaned against the back wall of the elevator, sighing and watching the dial climb higher. You bopped along to a song that was stuck in your head. It made up for the lack of elevator music and distracted from the creepy rattling.

The elevator continued to climb up, and up, and up. It also began to speed up its pace. Jesus, just how far did this thing go? Did you press the button to take you to the top? Was there even a top floor?? You started to get nervous when there just didn't seem to be any sign of stopping. Or slowing down. The floor dial was acting erratic, like a compass on the fritz. Your heart rate started increasing along with the elevator's speed. You started pressing other buttons, hoping to make it navigate you to a different floor. "Raaags, I could use your help stopping this thing!!" You shouted up to the ceiling.

After your comment, the elevator creaked and slowed down, finally coming to a stop. But the door didn't open. "Ugh, come on!!” You shook the cage doors and tried fiddling with the handle. Your heart caught in your throat at the loud THUNK of metal just below you. The lights flickered and burnt out. "Oh, no..." There was a jolt and a tremor...

And the elevator plummeted straight down at breakneck speed.

You screamed bloody murder, feeling your stomach drop and your legs practically disappear under you. You clung to the railings for dear life and felt your breath sucked right out of you. "FUCKFUCKFUCK!!! RAAAAGS!! HEEEELP!!"

It screeched to a halt about five seconds later. Thankfully your momentum didn't send you smacking into the ceiling. You hyperventilated heavily, heart hammering in your chest, your hair and clothes totally disheveled, legs splayed out, your knuckles white from gripping the railing so hard. That. Was. Horrifying. And you were mad at yourself that your inner adrenaline junkie also found it exhilarating.

The Nightmare's wild cackling erupted overhead outside the elevator. "I GOTCHAAHAHAHA!!" He hooted and hollered. You gasped in utter betrayal. "RAGS!!! YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!!!" You tried to leap up and grab at the ceiling. "GET DOWN HERE SO I CAN KICK YOUR ASS!!!" He phased down from the top of the elevator, collapsing in a heap of hysterics, pounding the floor with his fist. "AAAHAHAHAHA YOU SHOHOHOULD'VE SEEHEEHEEN YOUR FAHAHAHACE!!" “I can’t FUCKING believe you!!” You stomped and paced, exasperated. “Here I am trying find a way OUT of here and you’re trynna give me a heart attack!!” But the longer you ranted at him, the more he cracked up in hysterics, hints of his grape-colored tears leaking from his eyes.

"WHY YOU-!!" You could absolutely strangle him. But instead... “Yeah, you wanna laugh at me?? Laugh it up!!” You took the opportunity to lunge down at him and quickly sit on his legs, promptly burying your fingers into his lower midriff and hips, tickling viciously, giving rapid-fire pokes everywhere. "Yeah, VERY funny!!" His laughter just went up an octave and he flailed around. "YEEEE-HEHEHEHE C-COME OHOHON!! Y-YOHOHOU'RE the one who's into thrihihihill rihihides~!!!!" He kicked and shimmied his legs under you, making it difficult to stay in place. “That's different!!" You growled, moving up further to attack his bare midriff, “Save it for when we're not in a different dimension!!” He cackled and shrieked, wiggling under you, still pounding his fists on the floor. Not making an effort to push you off. As pissed as you were, you smiled at the sight. Damn he was handsome, squirming and laughing like this. It was short-lived though; he quickly retaliated, his massive hands clamping onto your sides and spidering their dexterous fingers over your ribs like a piano, giving a shitty smirk the moment you shrieked and recoiled. “Hehehe, you were sayiiing~?” He flipped your positions and shoved you down to the floor. “WAHH-HAHAH S-Staaahahahap alreheheheadyyy-heehee!!” Your face flushed and you flailed underneath him for a few more moments, trying to defend yourself by pinching under his arm with one hand and attacking his belly with quick scribbles and pokes with the other hand. “GYEE-HEHEHE!!” He giggled wildly, growling playfully and doubling his efforts, sending ticklish jolts through your torso and hips. “Heheheh, awww, is the little morsel all maaaad at me for pranking ‘em~?” He cooed and taunted. “Come onnn, I know ya can’t stay mad at me~! Just look at that smiiile~!” You kept up the tickle-fight for a good few minutes, holding your own pretty well against the relentless tickle monster; though no matter how strong you were, he’d always manage to wrestle you right back down into a position that left your most ticklish spots vulnerable, locking onto them and barraging them with tickles until you were shrieking and barking out profanities between bouts of laughter. He eventually relented, sitting back on his arms and splaying his long legs out. He took up the whole elevator floor. Whoo, that was a tasty energy boost~” he licked his lips. “There’s all kinds of different screams I can get out of ya~!” “Y-Yeah, so glad I could be your personal buffet,” you gave him a shove. "So, did you find any clues or not?"

He shook his head. "No rifts anywhere. And those hallways out past the glass doors are totally blocked from my sight. Going through them just leads right back out to the main hallways, like a fricken’ Pac-Man maze!” He scratched his chin. “And something else is definitely sneakin' around in here... I can't detect it for some reason." He shrugged and jumped up to his feet. With a snap of his fingers, his outfit poofed from his emo-punk getup to... a Bellboy uniform. Complete with hat, but still barefoot. “Sir Reginald at your service,” he put on a cockney accent and took a bow. ”Pfff-! Wow, don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear something so fancy.” He giggled. “Much as I don’t give a shit bout blending in, maybe it’ll help lure that sneaky creeper outta the shadows. It can't hide from me foreverr~” he snickered and pressed the button to open the elevator door, gesturing to it with a bow. "After you~ I’ll catch up with ya later. I'll make sure these pesky elevators don’t go haywire on you again, trust me~” he winked.

“Yeah, they’d better not,” You gave him a shove and stuck your tongue out at him as you headed onto what appeared to be floor 666. Okay, edgelord.

You considered his comment about heading into the abyss of one of those branching hallways. You made your way toward the nearest set of glass doors, tentatively pushing past it, walking out into the pitch-black hall ahead... Only to end up coming right back through another set of glass double-doors. Out of curiosity, you tried looking behind yourself as you pushed the glass door open.. From the glass doors on the adjacent wall, you could see yourself. Like a reflection or a Portal illusion. “Whoa.” “You will not make any progress through those doors.” The double-voice spoke casually, sounding as if it was just a few feet away. You jumped and spun around to try and find the source. You saw that illusion out of the corner of your eye again: The wallpaper rippling and bowing outward. There was definitely something, or someone, invisible inside of it. You tried to follow it with your eyes, but it was difficult. It was like your eyes didn't want to comprehend it. it kept fading out of your sight, like one of those bizarre 3D ‘Magic Eye’ images in books. “Hello??” This must've been what the Nightmare was talking about, right? How come he couldn't detect it, but you kept noticing it?

It only took a few more minutes of following the invisible shape until you got your answer. Tracking it to the wall dead ahead, you gasped: The pattern of the wallpaper was broken up by two glowing, opalescent orbs: A pair of eyes with squiggly horizontal pupils. You stepped closer. “I can see you, y'know,” you spoke up sternly. “You've been following me around, haven't you?”

Now that you'd noticed its presence, it made itself visible, phasing into existence in front of you. It had a very tall, masculine human body, dressed in a formal suit, with the head of a... Cuttlefish? For a moment they just stood motionless, arms folded behind their back, staring at you.

“Uh... Hi,” you gave them a cautious wave. “Is this your hotel?” The entity nodded. “Oh, well it's very nice!” "Thank you,” they responded. They took a few steps forward, tilting their head. "You seem different than others that have been here." You stood your ground. "Really? How so...?" "You run away, yet you're curious. You aren't deterred by what your species may deem 'monstrous'.”

"Oh, well..." You weren't sure how to explain that monsters and the like were very much up your alley. "I mean, it doesn't really do any good being afraid of everything 'different'," you shrugged. "Just because something may look monstrous doesn't necessarily mean that it's evil. Sure, people should be cautious, but people can’t learn anything about the world if they just decide they’re not going to try to understand it.”

Their tentacles twitched a bit. “How interesting.” They took a couple steps forward. “There is a point where curiosity becomes naivety. Keeping one's heart open, keeping one’s mind hungry for knowledge, can inevitably lead them right into the jaws of danger. Monsters care not for the childish optimism of their prey.” "Well, sure, but..." You wanted to explain that it was, in fact, a monster keeping you safe from the dangers.

“You should stay here.”

"...Huh?"

“You should stay here,” they repeated. “With the rest of us.” It wasn't a question, or a suggestion. It was a command. "Uhhh I can't really do that," you took a step back. "I'm trying to get home." “This can be your home.” Another step forward. “It's peaceful. Free from judgment and ignorance. Free from dangers. As long as you don't disturb the Smilers.” You sighed a little. So much for finding someone to reason with. “Look, I appreciate it, but I have friends and family that'll miss me. I have a whole life back in my world.” “Friends that abandoned you? Left you to rot away in a world you know nothing about?” “What?? No!! They had nothing to do with-”

The entity's head and tentacles suddenly started to light up in a dazzling, rippling display of colorful stripes, two of their tentacles splaying out to the sides. Their unblinking gaze drilled into you, glowing more vibrantly, their squiggly horizontal pupils shrinking to slits. "Wha-"

“You can trust me,” their tone became lighter, and friendlier; quite the contrast from their intense, borderline hostile gaze. “You'll like it here. You'll be well provided for. Room service, complimentary meals, comfortable beds. Jazz nights every week.” Their mesmerizing facial patterns were difficult for you to tear your gaze away from. For a brief moment, you actually considered their offer. Soon, they were little more than a foot away from you, looming over you, facial patterns still swirling and rippling. You swallowed back the lump in your throat, tried to turn your head or even close your eyes, but it felt like a static washing over your senses. Maybe I can stay here...

You didn't notice the entity slowly raise their arms up, outside of your peripheral vision. You didn't see their clawed fingers morph into tentacle-like appendages, starting to drip with a narcotic neurotoxin.

You also barely noticed the lights in the hallway going out, one by one.

Ragaeli faded in from a dark haze, right behind the entity, arms outstretched, and fingers wiggling, mirroring the actions of the other. Just as the entity sensed him and ceased their attempts to put you in a trance, the Nightmare clamped his hands around their sides, his hands buzzing with his crackling red magic. He wasn't taking any chances. But there was no reaction. No laughter or startled yells, no wriggling around. They looked outright offended when they whipped around, their hands morphing back to normal as they folded their arms. “You've some nerve, laying a hand on me.”

Rags blinked hard, before snorting. “Pfff- Damn, nothing, huh? Lame,” He put his hands on his hips. “That's some pretty clever magic of yours though~! Perception camouflage. Kinda similar to mine, actually!” He poofed out of sight in a puff of smoke, his uniform hat getting left behind and dropping to the floor. “Fool your friends! Fun at parties!!” His voice darted around the air around both of you. With another poof, he reappeared, giggling. The entity didn't seem phased, or amused. They tilted their head. “You’re the other presence I felt stalking about. Following this Wanderer, toying with them as if they are your prey.” Rags scoffed. "Oh, and you're not doing the same? At least I have something way more fun in mind than trynna drug 'em up and hold them hostage in some hoity-toity, dusty old-”

In a flash, the entity jutted out an arm to hold their tentacle fingers right up to the Nightmare's neck; and the other arm out in front of you, their fingers stretching out to splay its tentacles inches away from your face. You inhaled sharply and froze in place, not sure whether you should try to run. But Rags wasn't deterred by the threat. “Heh, struck a nerve, did I~?” With a flick of his wrist, he used his magic to tug their hand back away from your face. As if to answer, the creature's head started to flash and ripple in angry hues of yellow and orange, its tentacles wrapping around Rags' throat, seeping with toxins. “You'd do well not to defy me-” they started to growl sternly; But was interrupted by Rags jabbing the sides of their squishy head with his index and middle fingers, giving off a bright red spark. They jolted sharply, before their head and arms slumped over. They remained standing in place, unresponsive.

"Whoa; what did you just do?? You didn't kill them...?" He quickly shook his head. "You'll seeee~" He cooed.

The entity stirred. They let out a low, raspy chuckle. "Ohh... I see. That is a fun idea..." Slowly, they lifted their head and peeked over their shoulder at you. For a brief moment, their head and tentacles shifted to black and pale red stripes.

"R..Rags?? What did you do?" You repeated. He gave a giddy little snicker. "Weeelll, they tried to put you in a trance, I just decided to give 'em a taste of their own medicine~"

You gawked. "You're mind-controlling them?!" Ragaeli quickly shook his head. "Not mind control. Subconscious suggestion," he tapped a finger to his temple. "I just zapped 'em with a few of your memories, that's all. I suggested a different game to play with us. What they do after that is their decision~" “I never knew Wanderers could be so weak to touch...” The hotel manager chuckled, taking a step closer to you. “That’s really quite endearing...”

You swallowed. “H-Hey now-” Without giving you more time to react, they flung their arms and tentacles out to wrap around you, pulling you close. You yelped and instinctively tried pulling away, but were met with the feeling of the slippery appendages writhing and kneading over your armpits and ribs, immediately loosing a shriek of laughter from you. "YIEE-HAHAHA N-NOOHOHOHO!!" Your face flared up, shuddering from the sensations, wriggling back and forth and tried to tug their arms free.

Rags snapped his fingers, and the entity's arms were held up by magic, giving you a moment to catch your breath. Both he and the cuttlefish letting out wicked laughter. “How cute...” “Riiight~?” Rags giggled, patting your head. “Totally worth not knocking them out just yet, right? You wanna hear more of that cute laughter, see more of that helpless desperation, draw a feeling of glee out of them without havin’ to trance them first~!” The cuttlefish nodded. “I suppose I’ll humor you for now and play along with this little game...” And both of them, leaning in on either side of your ears: "You should run~"

The moment they released their hold, your adrenaline kicked in again and you bolted.

You could swear you heard the Nightmare and the camouflaged entity snickering evilly at every turn. When you thought you could see the air in front of the wallpaper ripple, you’d turn the other way. When Ragdoll’s stomping or giggling echoed from one of the nearby stairwells, you booked it up or down the next flight. Every now and then, the Nightmare would phase into the room from inside one of the many paintings decorating the walls, sending you booking it in the other direction. Even taking a moment of reprieve near the elevators wasn’t safe. The metal death cage stopped at your floor and with a ding of a bell, opened to Reggie - still in his Bellboy uniform - flashing you a shitty grin with his arms behind his back. “Next stop, our Diamond Suites~! Comfiest beds in the Backrooms, complete with bed straps and drawers and drawers full of the most torturous tickly instruments in this or any dimension, hehehehe~!” He tried to usher you into the elevator. “Yeahh nice try, I’m not gonna let you wreck my shit and pull a Tower of Terror on me again,” you stuck your tongue out. “C’monnn, I know you wannaaa~” His grin became more devilish and he gave you a wink. Before you could make another snarky comment, you were scooped up from behind, the manager fading into view again, opal eyes glaring at ‘Reginald’. “You will not misuse my elevators again,” they huffed, casually letting their clawed digits scritch and knead over your ribs, sneaking in toward your belly. “YyYYEE-HEHEH!! Y-Yeheheheah, what thehehey sahahahaid!!” You shook your fist at Rags, feeling your face quickly heat up. You were glad to be on playful terms with this entity now. Ragdoll rolled his eyes. “Well I’m just doing my job, but fine, I’ll meet up with you again after you give my buddy the answer they need~!” He pressed a button and rode the elevator down out of sight. The cuttlefish let out a low, clicky purring by your ear. “You seek answers, hmm? Then find your way to the Ballroom, and I may just give you a clue~” They released their hold on you and faded out of sight again. You took a moment to compose yourself before continuing onward. Where the hell were you supposed to find a ballroom in this place?? You kept an eye out for signs; there weren’t many to go off of. Reception, boiler room, outdoor gardens... You were so busy focusing on finding signage that you nearly ran smack-dab into a pitch-black wall with another one of those smiling faces staring out at you. “AGH-!” You gasped and jumped back when you saw it from your peripherals. It hissed through its teeth, just about to strike at you with two shadowy claws... Then Ragdoll came flying through a nearby painting, jabbing a couple fingers into the dark mass, just above the creature's eyes, giving off another bright red spark of magic - before promptly launching himself into a painting on the opposite side of the wall, his gremlin giggling still echoing overhead.

The creature gave off a startled screech, the entire mass trembling. Its eyes briefly flashed yellow, its Cheshire smile spreading even wider. "Ohh fuck no-" was all you managed to comment, before two dark limbs lashed out and pulled you inside. Your body was flooded with the feeling of a hundred gentle pokes, strokes and scritches. In the pitch-blackness, you had no way of knowing where it would come from next, or when it would end. The smiling face now peered down at you from above, snickering wickedly. “AaaAAH-Hehehehe!! D-Dahahammihihit!! N-Not you toohoohoo!!” You wriggled and tugged in its gentle, but surprisingly strong shadowy grip, yelping and whining and feeling goosebumps crawl up your skin from the feather-light touches teasing your hips, navel and ribs. You practically yelled when more of them slipped straight down into your shoes to flurry and vibrate, making you kick your legs around. “GAAH-HAHAHA!!”

But then... Something in your talisman must've sensed a shift in the entity's intentions. The moment before the creature turned its shadowy hands into daggers and thorns to impale you with, your charm gave off a sudden blinding red spark of magic, making you both shriek from the ticklish shock. You knew that was a sign that the game was over; you managed to pull away from the dark mass, coming out on the other side and booking it right as the creature let out an angry hiss.

After continuing to search, you were guided to the hotel Restaurant. Making your way inside, it was just as overly-exuberant as the rest of the place, with smooth Jazz playing from the nearby stage - despite the fact that no-one was playing the instruments that stood stationary.

You ducked down to hide underneath one of the nearby dining tables, just in time to hear Reggie's big ol stompers follow behind you. He snickered and started to walk slow, deliberate circles around the table. "Gee, I wonder where they went..." You heard his claws tapping, slowly and repeatedly, on the surface just above you. The sound gave you goosebumps. "They'd better not keep themselves tucked away too long, they're gonna get found eventually~!" He teased in a singsong voice, giggling wildly. “A shame we can't stay here for too long, I'd check us into one of the rooms and keep you in there with me to Netflix-and-Giggle! Not sure the TVs here have Netflix though... or if there even are TVEEEEE-HAHA!!" You took your chance to lunge from under the table and latch onto one of his feet, scritching and prodding over his arches and toes. He yelped with giggles, stumbling and falling back against the chairs for a moment and you started ducking and weaving around the tables in an attempt to shake him off. As you did, he put on his Bellhop act again, complete with accent. “Come now, this is no way for an esteemed guest to behave! I’m going to have to put you under house arrest at this point!!” He made grabs for you, and you practically climbed over table booths. “Yeah, well suck it!! This place is three stars at best!!” A loud hiss answered from a wall just behind you, the manager’s vivid glowing eyes and splayed writhing tentacles appearing in the air. “AAHH I’m kidding I’m kidding!!” You laughed and scurried out of the restaurant area. Unfortunately your comment seemed to have ticked them off; you could now hear them following very closely behind. You hardly had the chance to try climbing a flight of stairs before you were yanked by an invisible force into a nearby suite, the door slamming behind you. The cuttlefish glared down at you, arms folded across their chest. They didn’t look angry anymore, just unamused. “H-hey now, I was just joking earlier, this is a great hotel,” you smiled nervously up at them. “Very homey, great atmosphere...” They simply walked forward, making you back up further and further, until the backs of your knees pressed against the bed and you stumbled onto the mattress. They leapt forward and straddled either side of you, and as you scrambled back against the pillows, they outstretched their hands; one morphed its fingers into tentacles, the other remained clawed. “I believe you. But a comment like that still deserves to be... reprimanded~” They curled and scrunched their digits, wriggling them closer and closer to you... Until, without warning, they slipped their claws under your top, giving your belly a squeeze.

“AH! W-Wahahahaitt!!” You yelped all the more when their tentacle-hand also started exploring. They were more gentle with their methods than their initial spring-attack; They took their time scritching, poking, dancing their dexterous claws over your torso. Their tentacle suckers gave little ‘kisses’ over your belly. “MmMMF-Hehehehe!!” You tried, and quickly failed, to hold back your snickering, wriggling back and forth, trying to suck in your gut. Although they couldn't smile or change the expression in their glassy opal eyes, you could still see a mischievous twinkle behind them, their squiggly pupils dilated and the patterns on their head flowing in a soft ripple. "Those memories of yours told me something interesting... They showed me how easily you are persuaded by verbalization." "Wh-what do you mehehean?" They leaned down closer to your ear, their double-voice speaking in a low whisper. "You're ever so tiickliiish, aren't you~?" You let out a startled yelp, not at all expecting a tease out of an otherworldly entity like this. "AH-!! N-Noohoho!!" They tilted their head. "No? But clearly you are. Perhaps I will just have to convince you further." They un-straddled their leg from around you and reached up above you to grab one of the pillows; in just a few swift movements, they pulled the pillowcase off, grabbed your wrists, and tied them above your head. You gasped and felt your blush deepen, knowing your sides and armpits were even more vulnerable now. The entity flurried their claws up and down one armpit, and had their tentacles slip down your sleeve of the other arm, slithering around. “YIEE-HEHEHEHE!!” You whined and shimmied side to side like a fish. "It's such a curious thing, this 'ticklishness'...It's almost cute how easily a Wanderer can succumb to their own nervous systems being turned against them. Becoming helpless, giggling little fools, flooded by sensations their minds and bodies cannot fight against, let alone fully comprehend..." You whined, feeling the entity's explanations getting to you all the more. Their sly chuckle told you they were totally doing it on purpose. After the cuttlefish felt satisfied with their efforts on your upper half, they slid themselves off of the bed; not before grabbing another pillowcase. They casually walked over and took your ankles, ignoring your kicking and fidgeting, tying them together too. "A-Aahhaha, wahahait..." You giggled nervously. "Ah, yes, this is a particularly sensitive spot of yours, isn't it?" They wriggled their tentacles and fingers in front of your soles, keeping their eyes locked on you to watch your reactions. Their claws began to scritch, pinch and poke the ball of your foot and between your toes, dragging their nails slooowly down your sole. The tentacles on their other hand slithered over every crevice, between each toe, their suckers sticking and unsticking in rapid succession to cause a sort of ticklish ‘vibration. And it all drove you crazy. “ShitshiTSHIT-HAAHAHAHA NOOOHOHOHOO!!” Your body twisted, bucked and flailed on the bed, the entity’s skilled hands causing unbearable ticklish jolts coursing through your feet. “NAAHAHAHAHA!! P-PLEHEHEHEASE~!” Their hands switched places; their tentacles morphed into claws, and their other claws stretched into tentacles, keeping up their cruelly delicate methods for a few more minutes. Only when you were a whining, gasping mess did they relent and pull their hands away, folding them behind their back. They folded their arms behind their back and slowly walked up to the side of the bed to glance down at you. “I wonder...” “W-Wonder what?” You smiled anxiously up at them. “How mean would it be... if I convinced you that you’re even more ticklish?” Their head and face bloomed into rippling waves and patterns again. You gasped. “Ohh no, don’t you dare...” But you already felt it taking effect. From head to toe, your body tingled and erupted in goosebumps. The slightest graze of their claws against your ribs sent an electric ticklish jolt through you. “YYEEHEHEHE NOOOHOHAHAHA!!” You bucked a foot in the air. The cuttlefish chuckled. “The sensitivity of your nerves continues to climb higher and higher... You’re almost more ticklish than what you can bear...” They idly traced their claws in circles around and around your belly and ribs. You yelled. “P-PLEHEHEHEASE!! Thahahahat’s high enohohohough!!” You whined, trying desperately to hide your bright blushing face against your arm. You could feel every brush of fabric from your clothes, you could feel the soft mattress against any bare skin, you continued to be gently, methodically poked and stroked by the entity’s claws. And it tickled like hell. The next few minutes felt twice as long once they went in on you and started swiftly, rapidly tickling over every single weak spot they could find; up and down your torso, squeezing your legs and knees, walking down to slither their tentacles against your soles and toes, and along the sides of your feet. And you could only answer with loud shrieks of laughter, trying desperately to twist your body on the bed - which inadvertently opened up even more ticklish targets on your back. You weren’t unused to having your ticklishness tampered with like this; you knew damn well how the Nightmare could ramp up your sensations to unbearable degrees... And then drive you into utter madness by wreaking havoc with his hands and tendrils. Thankfully - or maybe unfortunately - the cuttlefish was a bit more gentle with their methods, and pulled their hands away again once you were left totally breathless. "You've grown very tired. And quite content. My offer still stands, you know... You can stay here." Once again, their head-stripes began to ripple and flare in a kaleidoscopic pattern, leaning in close to you. “I could tickle and toy with you, day in and day out~ You will not know any fear, or weariness... Only laughter~” The thought send shudders through you. But once again, before you could seriously consider their offer, Ragdoll's vivid orange eyes phased into view from inside the wallpaper above the bed, followed by his smile; a very irritated smile. "We had a deeeaaal," he growled. The manager sighed, rolling their eyes - you had no idea a cephalopod could roll their eyes - and ceased their hypnotic attempts again. "Very well. We will meet in the ballroom, then, as I stated. But it will be your last chance to prove your resolve." They untied you, before turning invisible again. Ragdoll’s gremlin giggling hovered in the air. "Better make a run for it while you can~" You groaned. For once, you didn't want to take off. You’d just managed to get settled in. "Can it be a casual walk instead? I've been running a lot as it is, and this bed is pretty cozy..." In a red flash, Rags pounced out of the wall and landed above you, crouched on all fours. "We're on a tight schedule, remember??" His hand lit up in sparks and he placed his large hand to your belly, giving off a shockwave. "WAAGH-HAHAHA!!" You leapt in place on the bed. "There, that oughta replenish you for a little while~" You realized that it wasn't just ticklish retaliation - your body felt revitalized. Your muscles weren't sore, your eyelids weren't droopy; and your body was no longer sensitive to an unbearable degree. "Heh, thanks. Well on that note..." You tuck-and-rolled off of the bed, quickly ducking out of the doorway. Once Ragman had chased you through a couple more hallways, he stopped, presumably to keep looking around the dimension. You used the chance to walk the halls and more carefully look around for a sign to the Ballroom. Finally, you saw a sign for it just ahead. Stepping inside, your eyes and mouth went wide. It was huge. And... totally empty. But the sounds of Jazz music, laughter and idle chatter lingered in the air; this place seemed to be the source of all the voices from before. After taking a few more steps forward, you began to see flashes and ripples in the air: Visions of people, dressed in Victorian-era clothing; some looked human, some didn’t. All of them were lacking faces. They looked a lot like some of the photos you had found in the guest rooms’ dresser drawers. These visions only lasted for a second or two before they faded out of view again. The manager stood in the middle of the dance floor, arms folded behind their back, patiently watching you approach. “Looks like I made it here,” You grinned smugly at them. “So are you gonna give me a clue or-” They instead took you by the hands, and started to do a waltz with you. They didn’t seem to mind your awkward steps, making sure to keep pace with you. “It’s nice seeing you enjoying yourself here, you know. So many Wanderers pass through here, frightened, starving, injured, trying so hard to escape... But doing so only brings them more strife.” Despite their unchanging gaze, they sounded disheartened. “I wish only to keep people safe. Once they sleep in one of my guest beds, they will leave their physical shells behind. No more hunger, or pain, or weariness.” They gestured to the flickering hologram-like visions of the other guests. “Only peace, and jovial celebration.” So... you were right. It would have been a bad idea to fall asleep. You didn’t really want to argue the morality of the entity’s methods, though. Especially since, all things considered, this very well might have been a better outcome for some poor soul that didn’t have a Nightmare god at their aid. "However,” they spoke up, interrupting your silent contemplation. “If you truly wish to leave, then I will give you a clue... Look for something out-of-place."

You raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, out of place?" "Exactly as I said. Something that does not fit into the hotel's aesthetic. Find it, and you may just escape. It’s not far from here. But find yourself trapped again, and I may just keep you here forever..." They snapped their fingers. Immediately, some of the specters responded to the sound, hovering over to where you stood, enclosing you as they circled around, giggling. “But perhaps I should make you persuade them as well... Give them a reason as to why I should let you leave~” You gave an exasperated sigh. “Oh come on...” The manager was definitely just fucking with you at this point. “HeeeEEYYY EVERYBODY~!” The air was suddenly booming with the sound of the Nightmare’s voice, and the lights turned dim. The flickering specters gasped and ceased their dancing and efforts to keep you boxed in, looking around for the source. Poofing into view on top of one of the tables, Ragdoll struck a pose, having switched out his Bellboy outfit for a very handsome old-timey suit and derby hat. He flashed the “crowd” a charismatic smile, and with a flick of the wrist, a microphone stand appeared in his hand. “Well now, ladies and gents, quite a lively, lovely bunch we’ve got here tonight! But how ‘bout we really get this place bumping??” He tossed away his hat and snapped his fingers; the soft Jazz was replaced by louder, energetic Swing. He hopped off and started to dance around the room, able to take the hands of the ‘invisible’ guests and twirl them around, switching between doing the Rumba and the Foxtrot. It didn’t take long for the guests to get riled up and join the party; despite their lack of faces, their excitement could be heard. The cuttlefish, on the other hand, was very irritated. “Who does your friend think he is, hosting Swing night a week early and stealing the thunder from my Jazz band??” Their face flared with angry orange hues. Better take your chance while you can!! You heard Rags’ voice in your head. You jumped and gasped, and quickly heeded his advice while the entity and their guests were distracted by his antics, slipping past them and sneaking out of the door on the farthest wall. You’d made a fair amount of distance before the sound of Swing music finally faded into the background. It was time to wrap up this Scooby-Doo escapade. You examined everything more intently than ever, trying to find anything that looked out of place.

Then, you spotted it: A large painting out of the corner of your eye, making you stop in your tracks to take a closer look. It was low to the floor and had a black minimalist frame, with a photograph of what appeared to be the inside of a modern warehouse or massive hardware store. You walked up and placed your hand against it... And gasped when it rippled and let your hand slip right in, like the surface of a pond. “Well bravo... You’ve found it.” The cuttlefish phased themselves out of the wall next to the painting, slowly applauding you. “I’ll admit, your determination is commendable. You’re certain you don’t wish to stay here?” They tilted their head. This time, the question felt less demanding, and more... Wistful. You felt a little sorry for them. All of your interactions made you realize that maybe they were just a little lonely. Well-intentioned, with questionable methods. You sighed. “Yes, I’m sure,” you stood firmly in place. “My friend can’t stay here any more than I can. He’s going to disappear if he can’t find a way back to his own world. Well, temporarily, anyways. He always comes back, but he may not be able to find his way back here. It’d break our heart if we couldn’t ever see each other again.” The entity nodded. “Very well, then... As utterly irritating as this friend of yours may be, it brings peace of mind knowing you have an entity like him keeping watch over you.” They chuckled. “Perhaps putting your trust in some monsters isn’t such a bad idea. “And... perhaps I could entertain my other guests with the games we’ve played~” They extended their tentacle-digits to slither up against your ribs one last time, before taking a bow and gesturing to the painting. “After you, then. Please, stay safe.”

You heard the faint echo of Swing music and a guest’s distant “Farewell!” as you stepped into the painting.

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Chapter One Chapter Two (current) Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six

Footnotes: "Terror Hotel": https://backrooms.fandom.com/wiki/Level_5 Smilers: http://backrooms-wiki.wikidot.com/entity-3 Jesus, I finally finished this chapter. I’d meant to get it posted before Halloween, but I just got too swamped with work and with con crunch (just got back fromt he con a couple days ago). Also, this chapter was actually going to be combined with the next chapter, but I realized it was getting too long and I was condensing it more than I would’ve liked instead of taking my time to flesh it out.

Even though the entity was only briefly mentioned in the Wiki, I’ve grown more attached to my interpretation of them than I realized I would, oops

#backrooms #backrooms hotel #hypnosis #tickling #tickle fic #monster #monster boy #tickle monster

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