THRILLSEEKER

by ZARXEN

Summary:

Once you hit rock bottom, theres no way to go but up.
...Right?

Even after Hoonis having his nose kicked inwards by Bep, he doesnt seem keen on leaving her alone with this. He knows how much she struggles- and how her wounds have only festered since the disappearance of her father. Bep, doesnt understand why he would want to help the person that had caused him so much harm, and reluctantly, but eventually lets him into her mind.

Ever since Elain had dissapeared, She had been acting different- like something had changed within her. Dento stuggles to figure out what actually happened, but he respects her boundaries and still continues to care for her- Even despite her developing paranoia.

Notes:

Quick note before we go on- This is gonna get dark really fast. If any of the topics in tags trigger you, i would strongly urge you to go read something else a little more friendly
(Despite my best efforts, this is not exactly for the most gentle of souls.)

Italic text is a flashback,
Plain text is current/present happening.

Thats pretty much it, so without further ado-
Enjoy (??)

-ZAR

Chapter 1: New normal

Dento has become increasingly worried for Elain.

Every day he checked in with her- she only seemed to be getting more and more paranoid. Which was bizarre- seeing as Elain was never really scared of anything. People shouting threats at her? Never bothered. Held at gunpoint? Showed no fear. In fact, she enjoyed the adrenaline rush she'd get from bounty hunting. Now, she'd flinch every time he'd reach out to pat her on her shoulder- instead of how she used to react.

He wonders if it was something to do with when she disappeared. It's not like he could ask her, though. She refused to talk about it- And being the good friend he is, he respected her boundaries. Or maybe he could get her a therapist- if it really was that bad. He knows that the person Elain used to be would shake her head at him for even thinking she needed that.

But he really, really does worry about her.

Alongside her shift in mood, Dento had noticed she became memorized by the TV- She'd always go to the channel for comedy. Dento hadn't batted an eye before and thought she had just picked up a new knack- But instead of laughing, she stared.

Which she is doing right now- her knees held close to her chest and her eyes nearly burning holes in the tv screen. Dento just sits on the other side of the couch, not wanting to bother her- but even then, couldn't stop worrying about her current mental state, and how it had happened so quickly.

Dento turns back to the tv screen which his roommate hasn't focused off of. On the screen at the moment is a man and a woman- Both, he recognizes. He never met either of them in person, nor watched a ton of their content, but he still recognized their faces from all the ads that would bombard him.

The man on the left, seated comfortably in the armchair on set, he recognizes to be a part of the Boogie family, who were known to be big in the whole 'showbiz' thing- (Losing my mind his last name is so silly), Clearly notable by the shape of his face (??). He's wearing the usual eye-straining glittery suit that Dento would have betted that left glitter everywhere- but never did. The magic of editing, he supposed.

The woman on the right, is a stark contrast. Her natural colors are much more vibrant than his, and she is dressed more casually- less eye burning than the man next to her. She wore a serene expression, which occasionally shifted to a smile or a laugh. Dento could never remember her name, but he knows it was something with a B- Bethany or something.

Both of them were rambling on about what it was like, growing up for them- Bouncing back and forth and adding to each other's words, something that was mildly amusing, he hates to admit, but even then, not as exciting as any action movie. Them talking, projected through the speakers, is the only sound that fills the room. 

It's getting late- and Dento doesn't feel like cooking tonight, either. He verbalizes such, confirming what Elain thought about ordering pizza in- if she even though in her current state. 

"Hey- I'm kinda hungry and it's late." He reaches toward his pocket, towards his phone. "I'm thinking of pizza, what do you think?" He expects a reply- but it stays quiet for several seconds until Elain's brain processes the question, and she chooses to finally reply.

"Pizzas fine."

Chapter 2: Choice

Summary:

"Do you want pizza bro"

"yeah sure bro"

"cool 👍"

"Now you choose to speak?" Dento turns and faces her directly.

"mh." She shrugs, shrinking under his gaze. Sure, they were friends- but nothing could cover up the guilt she felt for dragging him into the mess that became her life. 

"Welcome back, then. What do you want on your pizza?" He replied calmly- a brief smile showing up on his face (I don't know if it's even a face or if it's more of a head??)

She missed him, the way he spoke, the way he'd care for her after she would've done something hilariously stupid. Maybe it really has been that long since she'd actively hung out with him, that she forgot how accepting he usually was- or maybe They had just bent the way she thought of things.
"I never really left- it's just... I was overwhelmed." She replies,her tone more of a whisper as words spill out from that mouth (??) of hers- a strange sensation she hadn't felt in days. It felt good, to finally express herself in one way- to somebody who cared about her (Hopefully she hadn't shattered that relationship), no less. 

She deserves a break from watching them, from compelling reminding them to come back to where they really needed to be. She reaches for the remote, which sits in the exact position she left it in, as she expected and turns the screen off- 

for now, at the least.

She shifts into a more comfortable position, taking her eyes off the tv and instead, focusing on the world around her (Something she hasn't done in a while, either) setting herself at ease. Something she well deserved after everything that happened.

She always knew where she was, but now she can really take into account her surroundings instead of having it blur together into one color she could barely navigate on her own. She finds herself in the dark living room, the only light that she can detect being from the tiny, cramped hallway (She says cramped, but Dento always reasoned that it was fine- most likely because there's a sparse height difference between the two). Everything is clean and neat- with the exception of the blanket tossed over the side of the couch itself. And of course, Dento- in sweatpants and a tee, sitting there with his phone in his hand as he opens the app for food delivery. 

"I'm just gonna get pepperoni and mushroom." He speaks, not even the slightest shift in the way she recalls he spoke to her. 

She shakes her head at him, raising one of her hands and play-hitting the much smaller man she knows as Dento over his head, hoping he would read it as a sign of her dissaproval- and of course, her disgust for mushrooms.

Dento lets out a chuckle, the first time Elain had heard such sound in a while- and it spreads through her body like music, not like the ominous choir that had dominated her mind, but much gentler and kinder; easing every tense muscle in her body and reassuring her that everything is okay, that she is safe with him. It rang out in her ears and echoed in her once worry-ridden brain. 

"I'm glad you're back, Elain."

Notes:

Fluff-fest lol

Chapter 3: Past

Summary:

Cramming all of Hoonis's terrible childhood into a single chapter <3

Hoonis wakes up.
It's a normal sunny day again. He knows because he can feel the warm rays of early-morning sunlight on his face.
Normally, he would have wanted to stay in bed just to feel the warmth from the sunshine on his face-
But he can't do that. Not today. He has school today.
He has to follow the perfect routine his mother established.
The routine he starts and ends every day of his life.

‘Freshen up,
Dress yourself
And put on a smile to take on the day!’

He used to like those lines, but with him growing up- he supposed that it aged as well.
As he aged, He found that after saying it so many times underneath your breath that those words lose their meaning entirely. They no longer feel like a cheerful statement of encouragement, but now more of a command.
He stops in front of the mirror in his shared room before he goes down stairs,  knowing mother would get after him if he wasn't dressed to her expectation. He folds the collar of his button-up and tucks in his shirt, and attempts to smile. It didn't last very long, seeing as it dropped and shattered into a million tiny pieces he didn't bother to pick up. He never looked very good with his smile, it always looked strained.
He supposed it would have to do.

He drags himself downstairs, the smell of bacon and eggs filling his nose (HELP I DON'T KNOW IF THEY EVEN HAVE NOSES). It seemed that today, mother had time to be home and cook for them.
When he says them, he's referring to both him and his two sisters.

“Ah, g‘morning love, did you sleep well?” 
She greets him as he comes down the stairs. as expected, is in the kitchen- preparing the bacon to be feasted on by her little monsters she called children.
“Y-” 
“He didn't. He was such a crybaby about how he cant sleep without you” He was quickly interrupted by his twin sister, Puudle- The pink and pale purple faced crescent, who was seated at the table and already seemingly done with her breakfast. 
It seems she was in her usual sassy mood, even this early in the day.
Luckily, his mother was always a first responder to her minor harassments and insults. “Purdence, love- be nice to your brother.” She was never fond of nicknames, even for her own kin. She sets down the wooden ladle she was using to prep the eggs on the counter- smooth and serene as ever. 
“Hmph.” She crosses her mis-matched arms, responding with a silent fit.
“Are we going to have an issue, Pudence?” (Yes, her name is Purdence- But we don't talk about that lmao) Mother turns to face her briefly, her serene mood dropping as her unbridled anger shows through her soulless blue eyes. Hoonis picks up on the danger directed toward his sister, and turns to face her with fear in his eyes- briefly making a gesture that she would hopefully pick up on to cut it out- Hoonis didn't want her hurt this early in the day, Nor did he want to witness what mother would to to punish his twin.
Thankfully- she seems to pick up on the warning. She shrinks down in her chair. Her arms falling back to her sides- eyes pinned apologetically at Mother.
“No, sorry mother.” She whimpers.
“Good.” Mother continues on, opening the cupboard and taking out two more plates- Presumably one for Him, and the other for his eldest sister- Who, for some reason is not downstairs yet.
“Now, Where's Raimney?” Mother finishes plating the fairly portioned meal, and quickly glances toward the stairwell- perhaps expecting her to come down, but she never does.
“I dont know.” Hoonis states, grabbing his plate of freshly cooked eggs and bacon and waddling to the direction of the dinner table. Despite his mother being in the same room the plate was set down- She didn't even glance in his direction, or pat him on the shoulder like she usually did.
“I think she's up in her room again. Doing whatever it is she does.” Puudle slides down from her chair, taking the now empty plate and heading towards the direction of the sink.
“Ah. Hoonis, Be a dear and take it up for me?”

-

“Raim, Mother made breakfast.” He knocks at her door, littered with papers that say No entry- hoping for a response from her. It's odd how she chose to decorate her now private room, but Hoonis can't argue. It was her choice, not his.
“If mother told you to drag me down there, just tell her i'm not feeling well.” Hoonis can hear shuffling behind the closed door, as she presumably approaches it.
“You don't ever feel well.” He groans.
The door opens just a sliver, allowing the shape of his middle sister to be shown, illuminated by her bedside lamp. Its usual, gloomy Raimney, dressed in her baggy clothes and choosing to be as reclusive as ever.
“It's because i don't, not at home- anyway .The energies here are bad, y’know. They make me feel sick, all the time. It feels like I'm always being watched.” She whispers, glancing to her side like she expected someone or something to be there, But from what Hoonis could tell- wasn't. 
“Why don't you tell Mother then? Mother could fix it.” The boy says, offering the plate and utensils forth to Raimney herself.
“Because. She’d send me to the doctor.” She shudders at the word doctor. 
Hoonis was never scared of doctors- ever. He believed mother was right about them always wanting you to feel better, to be better- healthier. But the way Raimney referred to it, the way she thought about doctors became clear to him.
Another thing to mark down as a contrast between him and his siblings.
“Doctor?” He questions briefly, mildly confused about the way his elder sister referred to a person he thought specialized in making you feel better, or how to be healthier or something along those lines.
Before he could get an answer the door to his elder sister’s room slammed shut. 
“You forgot your breakfast…”

(Cue the timeskip to after school lol)

He and Puudle were getting picked up today. By mother herself, instead of taking the bus like they usually did. 
Hoonis wondered why- And Puudle told him it was probably because of mother’s job.  
Both of them waited at the front of their school, hiding out beneath one of the trees out front while they waited for their mother to pull up in the front.
Puudle was doing whatever it is she does- Hoonis could care less, as long as she doesnt bother him and his reading. Hoonis, had his nose buried in a book- among one of his favorite pastimes. 
“Heya Hoonis!” 
He jumps- startled by the sudden ambush of noise.
He slams his book shut and turns to face whoever it was,
Finding her.
Her cheery faced innocent self.
She was dressed a little differently today- shorts and a tee (Something Hoonis himself could never go out wearing- his mother would get mad at him for dressing so casually) and wore only a gray sweater to protect her from the cool fall breeze. But even then, how could he forget her? She was too notable to miss.
Even in the swirling storm he called his mind- he could always recall her.
“Who are you? Why are you sneaking up on me and my brother?” Puudle stands up, only a little bit taller than Bep, waving the stick that had fallen from the tree in her direction accusingly .

“My names Bep, and I know Hoonis- Me and him are best friends” She turns to smile at him breifly, her tone taking on a more sing-song sort of hint.

He shrinks. 
If He ever wanted Puudle to meet Bep, he knows he wouldn't have wanted it to end up like this.
Sure, she was a little strange and snuck up on them every now and then- But he would have at least liked to introduce them to each other beforehand. Both of the girls look at him, both of their eyes glistening with clear confusion.
“Yeah, She's my friend. We play on the playground and study together.” Sometimes. He forgot to add sometimes. But either way, he still did confirm that he did in fact- have friends, something normally he would have bragged about to his siblings.
It's nothing against her, it's just she just randomly disappears sometimes, no rhyme or reason or identifiable pattern, and comes back the next day and acts like she never left.
“ That doesn't explain why you're stalking us.” Puudle’s eyes narrow and her arms cross, even if she was still young- he knows how protective she can be with strangers. 
“I'm not stalking you, I'm just waiting too! I'm hitching a ride with you! Neat, right?” She grins.
Puudle and Hoonis meet eyes- wordlessly expressing even more confusion- that this time, was directed not at her, but her words.
Hoonis knew she would never lie, Puudle- though, probably doubted her.
Hoonis can only look away with shame and embarrasment- his cheeks dusted with a faint red at the fact.
“Our parents know each other, don't worry!”
She raises her hands briefly, an attempted sign that Puudle can trust her.
On cue- Mother’s silver sleek car pulls up to the front of the line.
“Oh, Lookitthat, we gotta go! Last one there's a rotten egg!” She giggles and sprints off in the direction of the car, leaving the twins alone again- staring awkwardly at each other as both of them struggle to process what had just happened in the past few moments. After a while, Puudle's eyes come back into focus, pinned to him as she speaks-

“Your friends are weird, Hoonis.”

Chapter 4: Late

Summary:

Hoonis comes by for an unexpected visit.

It's late. Really, really late. No light dares to shine during these hours, especially with her at risk of getting irritated.
She is now opposed to any other time of day or night. Nobody here to bother her, and no obnoxious sounds of cars passing by. 
What is she up doing, though?
Eating.
She doesn't eat much, at all really. Not during the day, at least- when a countless amount of peoples cameras are focused on her. She found it rather embarrassing to have people watch her eat- thus, she never does.
Catching up on her calorie intake, she supposes.
She's in her kitchen, pouring herself those bland flakes of corn marketed as healthy cereal.

Knock knock knock

She jumps nearly out of the seat of her sweatpants, startled by the interruption of her usually peaceful hours, the time she gets for herself.- and ends up spilling corn flakes all over her counter.
“Shit.”
She hisses to herself, frustrated that she could get jumpscared so easily. She would clean up the mess she's made, but she just doesn't have time. She needs to dress herself- at least, before she answers the door and shoos off whoever it is- So she just leaves it there. 
For now.

“Gimme a second!” She shouts,  rushing over to her room and grabbing her sweater to cover herself up before she answers the knock at the door. She slips it on, and sprints right back to the main living space- to the door.
She can guess who's bothering her- especially this late. The only other person who’d probably stay up that long would be the worrisome man she knows as Hoonis.
She opens her front door, the bitter midnight breeze hitting her, and before her lies Hoonis himself, in his full crescent-faced glory, despite having his nose (??) broken by her earlier, in his coat and looking up at her with those sad, sad eyes of his, and cowering before her.
She's pleased, deep down to see that she can hurt him.

“What do you want, Moon boy.” She hisses, eyes narrowing at him
She knows damn well what he wants. He wants forgiveness, the forgiveness he would always beg for after incidents like today,
“I just wanted to apologize earlier. I got a little… ahead of myself.” He meets her eyes, aware of the way she's looking at him.
“Only a little.” She turns, reaching for the door handle- planning to slam it shut on him.
“Wait! Please, just listen to me- Just this once” He grabs her hand, and holds it gently with those clammy disgusting hands of his.
“One time? Hoonis, how many times has this happened again?” She pulls her hand back from him, disgusted that even now they don't have to pretend they like each other- he still chooses to.
Every time they meet, she begins to doubt he was even lying about their relationship. (I'm not saying they’re together, but I'm not saying they aren't either.)
“Lots. I know-” he nods, a clear look of shame showing on his face. “Please, Bep- We need to talk.”
“About what? Rub it in how I don't have any parents and you do?” She crosses her arms, and leans on the doorframe.
“No-” He shakes his head.
“That's what you said last time, when you came to bother me like this.” She cuts him off, her tone accusing him of as she said, wanting to remind her about the constant loss that seemed to linger around her every day of her life.

“Thank god we’re both on break then, eh?” 
There's a long awkward pause between them. He clearly was attempting to make a joke, but she was just too pissed at him to even laugh at his attempt. A hilarious addition to this, she could’ve swore she heard a cricket chirping in the background while all this happened.

The cold night wind chooses now- of all times, to gust over both of them. Bep herself isn't bothered- Hoonis, though, has quite the opposite reaction.
She understands it. He isn't dressed to stand out in the cold too long, and it shows. He should’ve expected it, but for some bizarre reason, he did not.
Bep suspects it's a ploy just to get the odds on his side, if he really wanted to talk about whatever it is. 
Even then, deep down inside of that cold heart of hers, she worries about him. The soft caring side she wanted to tear out of her mind if she could, the side she would wrap up tight and shove in the closet until it dies.
After an internal battle and enough of Hoonis looking pathetic at her doorstep while he shivers, She finally decides she’ll hear him out.
“Urgh. get in here, before you freeze to death.” She groans, rubbing her temples as she steps back and holds the door open for him.
“... Thank you.” He glances at the slightly taller woman before scurrying inside her home.
“ You shouldn't thank me. How long has it been since I kicked your nose inwards?” She closes the door behind him and leaves her hands on her hips, leaving both of them in her dimly lit living space. 

“ Hey- I get that you have a lot of compressed feelings inside, and I know doing this” He takes off the light coat and folds it up to hang it on the coat rack she has, and briefly gestures to his bandaged nose “is the only way you really get it out.”

“Shut it, Moon boy, you’ve already made me soft enough.” 

 

 

Notes:

Headcannon: Bep is 5'6, Hoonis is 5'2.

Meaning that shes like 4 inches taller than him lol