His Voice in My Head

~You should eat him~

"Shut up," Billy whispered under his breath, his eyes darting around to see if anyone overheard him talking to himself.

~His flesh would taste delicious. Come on, Billy-boy. Have a little taste.~

"No. I'm not g-going to g-give in to… THIS," the young man swore aloud, before the paranoia of being watched overtook him again. Nowhere was safe.

If Billy could go back in time, he'd have turned down the handsome stranger's invitation to join him for dinner. But Robert had been so charming and suave. Billy really thought they'd had a connection…

~Oh, we did. I thought you looked delicious.~

The young man grit his teeth as he walked through the hotel's main doors, and immediately grabbed the nearest elevator to get away from, what he thought were, the prying eyes all around him. This entire situation just wasn't fair!

~Mmmmm… Billy-boy. Touch yourself for me.~

"F-fuck you, Robert. I don't need your p-pervy crap tonight. You're not real. You died, and I ended up with one of your organs, and now I'm a… damn it!" Billy buried his head in his hands as the tears began to drip down his cheeks.

~Don't cry, Billy-boy. You're one of us now. And my ghoul name is Pennywise. Robert Gray is just the name I use with the humans. And you, my succulent little boy, are no longer a human.~

"I'm 22 years old! I'm not a c-child," Billy argued aloud. He flopped back on the hotel bed, barely aware of the squeak let out by the old bed springs beneath him.

~That's right. You're NOT a child. You're a ghoul – so you should act like one.~

"I refuse to… to do such a h-horrible thing. Ghouls eat p-people," Billy hissed quietly, vividly aware of the fact that anyone overhearing their conversation would either think him insane or have him arrested on suspicion of BEING a cannibalistic ghoul.

~Yes, we do. We have no other choice. Although, I'll let you in on a little secret – if you agree to touch yourself tonight.~

"I don't care for your little secrets, Pennywise," Billy spat the name out with a vengeance.

~Are you sure? What if I told you that there was something else you could eat. Something that would curb your hunger for a short time?~

The dead ghoul's voice echoed in his head, tempting him with sweet promises. Finally, Billy sighed and gave in. If Robert… Pennywise had a solution that ensured he didn't have to eat humans, then it would be worth the price.

~Oh, it won't completely take away your hunger, my little Billy-boy. Someday, if you want to survive, you will have to taste human flesh.~

"Just tell me what it is," Billy demanded.

~Very well. The next time you visit THAT café, order a regular, black coffee.~

"Coffee? Seriously?" The former human was rather surprised by that. He presumed the ghostly ghoul in his head would have suggested hunting rats or some other fleshy animal to appease his hunger. But coffee… that was pretty weird.

~Now, about your end of the bargain…~

Billy grimaced even as he unbuttoned his jeans. It couldn't be helped. If Pennywise was in his head to stay, he'd have to get used to having an invisible commentator every time he changed, showered, or did things like… this.

~Yesssss.~

Note: One of my lovely reviewers recommended Tokyo Ghoul, and I thought the idea was certainly an interesting one. I was tempted to have it set in the regular universe, where they return to defeat IT again, but Billy had become a ghoul during the years apart. But this short ficlet flowed better.

I wish I could do this prompt justice, but I think it would get too brutal and cannibalistic for my writing tastes. If anyone else wants to give it a go, feel free. I know I'd love to read someone else's take on ghoul Billy. Or ghoul Pennywise, if that were the case.