Warnings - Violence, Slight Non-con.
"Been a while, Nicky."
Nick sits up in bed, looking around him. The room's too dark to see much, but he can just make out a figure standing at the end of his bed. He blinks once, and the figure's gone. Nick lies back down, turning his head to get comfortable on the pillow, jumping back when a grinning face appears in front of his.
"I hope you missed me."
Nick closes his eyes again, willing the face to disappear. It doesn't work.
"Did you? Did you miss me, Nicky?"
Nick stretches up, hand groping blindly on the wall for the light switch, unwilling to take his eyes off the person lying on his bed. His fingers brush over the plastic and the light flicks on, flooding the empty bed with light.
Cool breath ghosts over the back of his neck, and Nick lets out a frightened squeak, shivering as goosebumps rise on his arms.
"Well? Did you miss me?"
"How can you be here?"
Suddenly he's in front of Nick, and Nick pushes himself back against the wall, as far away from the blond haired man as he can get. Jeff smiles slowly, leaning forward, his hands on his knees.
"That's not an answer."
Nick closes his eyes, squeezing them tight, concentrating.
"You can't just... imagine me away, Nicky. That's not how this works. Now tell me. Did you miss me?"
Nick nods, his eyes still closed. He jumps when Jeff speaks, his lips brushing over Nick's earlobe, whispering so quiet Nick barely hears him.
"Liar."
Jeff doesn't move, but Nick jolts in pain as fingernails dig into his skin, dragging down his chest. Jeff nips his ear and then smiles slowly, before sitting back and watching him.
"You haven't thought about me once in seven years."
Nick flinches, head snapping to the side as a hand collides with his cheek, slapping him hard. Jeff hasn't moved.
"Tell me the truth, Nicky."
"I... I did think about you, I did!"
"Stop LYING TO ME."
Nick presses back against the wall, staring at Jeff wide eyed.
"I'm not."
"You ARE!" Jeff screams, and Nick's yanked forward, sprawled out on his back, unseen hands holding his arms and legs down so hard he knows without a doubt that he's bruising.
Nick whimpers, trembling with fear as Jeff drags a finger slowly down his chest.
"You're a liar, Nicolas Duval. A liar."
"Please, Jeff, I'm... I thought about you, please, please believe me."
Jeff straddles his hips, his weight pressing Nick further into the bed as he places his hands either side off Nick's head, lowering himself down, his face barely an inch above Nick's. Jeff's breath blows across Nick's lips; cool and sickly sweet smelling. A wave of nausea hits him suddenly, and Nick tries not to gag as he realises what the smell is.
"Putrid cherries," Jeff whispers, eyes fixed on Nick's. "I dared you to eat the rotten ones we found at the back of your fridge, do you remember?"
Nick nods warily.
"Your mom was so angry with us. She said you weren't allowed to see me for a week. And you actually listened to her." Jeff says incredulously. "You actually listened. Do you know why that is, Nicky?"
Nick shakes his head.
"It's because you're weak. You're so... so... weak."
Nick yells, breaking the relative quiet of the room, razor sharp nails scratching down his back. He can feel the blood seeping into his shirt, soaking it. Jeff slips his hands down behind Nick, stroking down his shoulder blades, pressing the cotton of his T shirt into the bloody grooves. Nick hisses in pain, tears welling in his eyes.
"So weak. Weaker than me. Weaker than your imaginary friend." Jeff drags his tongue around the shell of Nick's ear. "Couldn't even forget me when you tried."
"I didn't try to..."
"Liar, liar, pants on fire." Jeff whispers, his singsong voice fading, his weight disappearing from on top of Nick.
Nick sits up slowly, the pressure on his ankles and wrists vanishing along with Jeff, groaning as the gashes down his back reopen, pain rippling through his entire body. He clambers off the bed, looking around him, eyes searching the room for any sign of his past best friend. The light switches off, and he's plunged into darkness.
It's completely dark. That kind of dark when it makes no difference at all to what you can see if your eyes are shut or not. The thought creeps unbidden into Nick's mind that this is the dark where the monsters live.
A fist slams into Nick's stomach, knocking the breath out of him. He drops onto his hands and knees, panting, trying to get his breathing back under control. Nick crashes onto the ground as he's kicked hard in the ribs, then again, then again, until he's curled up in a ball sobbing, eyes shut tight, with the taste of blood in his mouth. Nick feels someone nudge him over onto his back, kicking at his hands until he gives up, letting go of his knees, lying spread-eagled on the floor.
"You can't forget me, Nicky." Jeff says from above him, his voice getting closer as Nick feels his weight settle back on his waist, his fingers trailing up Nick's arms, over his shoulders.
Jeff drags his fingernails over Nick's neck, up across his cheek to his lips.
"You haven't forgotten our first kiss, have you?"
Nick shudders, blood running cold. He barely has time to register the hands holding him down before Jeff's kissing him, hard, forcing his tongue past Nick's lips. Nick retches, the tastes of bile, and blood, and decay mixing in his mouth as he struggles, desperately trying to turn his head to pull away, but Jeff's hands are on his cheeks, keeping him still. Jeff's tongue drags across his, running over the roof of his mouth, tasting every little part of his mouth until Nick can barely breath and he finally, finally pulls away.
Jeff grinds his ass down against Nick's crotch, making him whimper softly. He can still taste Jeff, taste the cherries in his mouth so many years ago. Jeff presses down a little harder.
"No reaction at all?" Jeff whispers, voice dangerously low. "What's wrong, Nicky? Don't you like me?"
Jeff runs his hand down Nick's chest, stopping just short of the waistband of his pyjama bottoms. Nick's stomach churns.
"Please..." Nick begs, voice hoarse. "Please don't..."
"Look at me, Nicky." Jeff says, fingers toying with the ties that rest just above Nick's crotch. "Open your eyes and look at me."
Nick opens his eyes slowly, looking up at Jeff. Jeff looks back, eyes cold, not quite matching the menacing grin spread across his face.
"You won't forget me, will you Nicky."
It's more of an order than a question.
"You can't forget me, you see Nicky." Jeff states. "I'm in your head."
Jeff's gone, suddenly, the room flooding with light.
"And I'll always be there."
Nick almost screams, Jeff's voice loud in his ear. He scrambles to his feet, gasping in pain, clutching his ribs as he spins on the spot. Jeff shoves him hard, back onto the bed, crawling after him as he backs up against the wall, grabbing his legs and spreading him out on the sheets.
"I'll be there on your wedding night."
Jeff strokes his hands slowly up Nick's legs to his thighs.
"And I'll be there when your kids are born."
Jeff's eyes light up, and he giggles, childlike, sitting back on his heels and clapping his hand across his mouth. He leans in, smiling widely, eyes wide and excited.
"I might be their friend, Nicky." Jeff whispers, almost reverently. "Wouldn't that be fun."
"JJ, pl-" Nick starts, cut off as Jeff slaps him hard, snapping his head back.
"You don't get to call me that." Jeff whispers. "Not anymore."
Jeff stares at him, eyes dark, hands twisting in the hem of Nick's shirt before flipping him over onto his front and pushing it up roughly, bunching it around his arms. Jeff lines his fingers up with the scratches from before and drags down, breaking the skin again, forcing the blood to start flowing. Nick wails in pain, struggling, closing his eyes to stop his tears.
Something hot and wet touches the small of his back and Nick retches into the sheets when he realises it's Jeff's tongue, drawing carefully through the blood on his back, long, deliberate licks across his skin. Nick doesn't even struggle, just presses his forehead against the bed, willing it to be over, whimpering softly.
"What's wrong with you... you're not right..." Nick mumbles, barely audible even to himself.
Jeff pulls his body up, pressing himself against Nick's back, pinning him down. He grinds his hips forward, and Nick gasps involuntarily when he realises that Jeff's hard, obviously and overwhelmingly hard.
"Oh god... don't... please don't..." Nick pleads, fingers digging into the sheets, struggling under Jeff's weight.
"How many times, Nicky? I'm in your head." Jeff whispers, rolling his hips forward again, rutting up against Nick's ass. "You're the one that's not right."
And then he's gone.
Jeff's gone, and Nick's left alone on the bed. The pain in his ribs is gone, the wounds on his back were never there, his shirt as pristinely clean as it was when he put it on that evening. He curls up on his side, wrapping his arms around his legs and resting his forehead on his knees.
"You're the one that's not right."
Nick cries himself to sleep.