Matthew had this dream once. It was kind of creepy, but probably the best dream he'd ever had. This man was…dancing for him. Twisting his body into all sorts of shapes, trying to impress Matthew. And it worked. The white hair reflecting in the moonlight, the mask that betrayed no emotion, the limbs that worked like no limb should really work. Occasionally, there was a twitch, like he was almost stuck, but he never stopped. He tantalized Matthew, even at such a young age, it's the one dream Matthew could ever remember, and he'd remembered it for years. Matthew followed the man, even as he tried to walk away. But the dream had ended. His brother had woken him up just before Matthew was about to follow the man's dancing into his beautiful house.

Matthew remembered that dream for 9 years. Since he was 8, he thought of that man all of the time, thinking about how he could move like that. What made him so interesting? It was almost winter as he walked out of school yet again, bored by the normal moves of the people around him. The wind was biting cold and the leaves were pretty much black on the ground, with little remnants of snow from the day before littering the sidewalk. He tried to recreate that man every time he could, with art, with words, with his own dancing, nothing worked.

And then Matthew stopped dead in his tracks, ignored by the others, who snapped at him and complained about the cold. Just across the street, standing between two brick buildings, stood the man. The same, perfectly tailored black suit that fit him all too well. The white mask with half-moon eyes and a crescent smile. His white hair standing out, even in the near winter. The man tilted his head slightly to the right and a gust of wind rushed by. Matthew didn't even notice his scarf blow away, watching the man's hair dance perfectly with the air.

The man held out a hand, still almost getting stuck, but the simple movement was captivating enough. Matthew, without thinking, stepped into the street. He didn't hear the car honk at him, as the man retracted his hand gracefully and bowed his head. The man carefully moved his right leg behind his left and Matthew was already across the street. The masked man bowed deeply to him and Matthew reached out to touch him, but the man swiftly took a large step back, moving gracefully into a turn, pausing a few times, his head tilting a few times.

The man continued to move as Matthew followed him, not caring what or who he ran into in the process. All he could see was the man as he twirled his arms around majestically, his legs sweeping out to perfectly avoid any obstacle and still make a show. Matthew was completely taken, he couldn't stop himself, he couldn't think of anything else. All he could do was follow, not even thinking properly enough to breathe.

He didn't hear the leaves crunch beneath him as he walked through the dead forests, past where the stone path ended that his parents told him to never go past. The brown grass flattened under his feet, but he didn't look. All he could see was the man, how every part of him danced with something that no other person Matthew had met possessed. And then the man teasingly placed a finger in front of the mouth of the mask and expertly twirled forward.

Matthew's knees nearly buckled as he followed the man, the cold around him a simple afterthought to really think on later. The forest thinned around them and Matthew didn't even notice himself crawl through the twisted, rusted gate of an old, abandoned house. He didn't even glance at the house, his eyes staying glued to the perfect dancing of the man in front of him.

He recognized the door, though, that cracked open before the man even approached it. Matthew stood just beyond it as the man twirled inside, only allowing his head and hand to be shown, the teasing finger placed over the mask yet again. Matthew stopped, afraid that it would all shatter again, like the dream.

The man waited, his head tilting to the side again, and Matthew took another step forward. It didn't shatter, the man remained. There was a slight laugh, though it didn't sound natural, it was far too beautiful. The hand gripped onto the mask and pulled it up, over the hair. The face in front of Matthew was…flawless, perfect, beautiful.

It shone in the light like plastic, and the ruby red eyes didn't look like they could close, but Matthew wouldn't mind that. The eyes looked almost painted, the closer he got, and they were beautiful, fiery, full of danger. It was in the moment that Matthew was a small step from the man that his mind was screaming at him to escape.

The man grew a smirk on his lips and there was a small click as the man moved. He dropped the mask on to the wood below him and held onto Matthew's hand, raising it up and twirling the boy full circle, carefully pulling him close to his chest. His skin was hard and smooth and Matthew was more aware of every moment the man would freeze due to a joint getting stuck, but he didn't care. He was completely captivated.

"Hello, welcome to the Dollhouse," the man said with a lustful voice that completely re-captivated all of Matthew's attention, causing him to forget everything; his name, how to breathe, that he was actually standing, rather than floating on air. "We were interrupted last time, but I look forward to playing with you now."

SNAP

No one outside heard the screams and there was no one inside the house to listen for the police searching for the missing boy, the most recent of many. But a new doll sat among the dozens on the shelves, his porcelain skin shining in the moonlight, frosting over in the winter. The Dollhouse owner, the dancer with the mask, prized this new doll that took 9 years to obtain. He would take the time to kiss his hand before he departed for the next child to enrapture with his dance.


A short little drabble for October, got this idea at random and I love it! Though it really has nothing to do with it, I got the title from the song "Dollhouse" by Melanie Martinez, which is fantastic and creepy. I listened to it for more than half of writing this and it fits…not at all. But it's creepy-ish, so it's worth a listen regardless. Anyway, I hope y'all liked it! And I hope to get more stuff up soon, I just have so much stuff I have to get done in such a short amount of time!

I do not own Hetalia!