A/N: Song inspiration: Monster by Skillet.
NNY pushed through his front door, flinching at the sound of a gasp.
Oh, no. Had Jenny seen something that disgusted her? Had she finally come to her senses and realized what she was dating?
A homicidal fucking maniac?!
He was still covered in that woman's gore. NNY had drained her body of blood in the end, and now they had enough to paint the walls with.
That's if Jenny still wanted to paint with him. Did she even want to date him still?
Jenny had looked at him a little differently after he killed that art bitch. It had definitely put a dent in their relationship.
Would he lose her now?
All his old fears came rushing back, and he tried to get a hold of himself.
Killing Jenny wouldn't even make a difference now anyway. They have already lost the beauty of the start...
"Oh my... you weren't lying when you said you stabbed all those newspapers..."
NNY placed the bucket of blood down by the door, yanking on the collar of his shirt. He laughed nervously. "N-no..."
She peered up, eyes wide and curious. NNY was confused. Why was she not cringing in terror
She'd just seen him killing a woman.
Surely, tonight would be the final straw. She would take one look at the contraptions in his basement and then run for the hills.
And NNY will lose yet another one.
"Did you really mean what you said before? Were the newspapers talking to you?" she asked, her voice gentle.
He blinked. "Y-yeah... I guess... Jenny... about what happened. I..."
"I know. You had no choice. You had to kill her. She saw us, and you had to act. I understand."
NNY watched her dumbfounded. She kept her head down, closing her eyes deep in thought. She was most likely reliving that terrifying moment.
NNY had made Jenny wait in the car when he took that woman to a back alley to drain her blood. Then he rolled her up in some old sheets and dumped her into the river.
The authorities will find her later.
If she had just kept her eyes closed, then she would still be alive.
NNY had been prepared to call it quits and just head on home. He was prepared to grant Jenny her wish.
She didn't want to go through with the murder in the end because she was a pure-hearted soul. But the pretentious art bitch just had to wake up!
Now Jenny would never look at him the same way again.
No matter what happened tonight, Jenny could not see his basement. If she was shocked about what he did back at that woman's house, then she would be beside herself with terror if she saw what was deep in the bowels of his basement.
"I just hope you won't look at me differently after this..."
Jenny reopened her eyes. "Why would I look at you differently?"
NNY stammered, unsure of how to respond. Then he chuckled, gazing down at the bucket of blood.
"Well, because I'm a homicidal maniac who stabs his victims in their sleep and drains their bodies of blood. I know what I am, Jenny. There's no point in sugar-coating it."
Jenny stared at him, her mouth agape.
NNY pointed at the door. "So, if you want to leave, go on. I won't stop you. We're way past that phase now, anyway. The beauty of the start has already gone..."
Silenced filtered through the room. NNY couldn't look at her; he was too afraid to see what kind of face she would make.
If she cried, he would gladly place a knife in his own diaphragm. Yet his days of wanting to kill himself were long gone.
He just didn't have it in him to even try anymore.
Jenny took hesitant steps towards him, gauging his reaction. NNY watched her carefully from the corner of his eye.
What was she doing?
Then she took another step, and he wondered if he was being ambushed or something.
"What are you doing?"
Finally, she stopped just behind him, gazing up at the back of his head. NNY angled his face to look at her, raising an eyebrow.
Seriously, what was wrong with her?
"I don't look at you differently..." she whispered.
NNY blinked, stupefied. "Huh?"
"If anyone is to blame, then it's me. I told you to go to that house in the first place."
NNY had no idea how to reply to that; he was treading on new territory here.
Jenny had a lot of balls to admit that she was in the wrong, but she still had to have some sense.
NNY was bad for her. She shouldn't be attracted to him.
She was only going to get herself hurt.
Well, suppose he should count his blessings that he found someone so understanding. It was just hard to see himself in the same way she did.
Jenny came around to stand in front of him, reaching up to wipe away a drop of blood from his face.
His eyes bugged. "Jenny...?"
She cupped his cheek, moving in a little closer. "I told you once before. I want you, Johnny C. Even your darkness."
Of course. How could NNY forget? He was dealing with a complete mental case. Jenny may have small moments of clarity, but in the end, she would always be disturbed.
Always be insane, like NNY.
Which was one of the reasons why he fell head over heels for her...
NNY laughed, his eyes darting towards his basement door. The dark steps beckoned him, and he tried his best to resist.
"So... whaddya wanna do next? We could watch TV. Yes, TV! Or play a game of Twitcher. It's good for the muscles."
Sweat dripped down his face.
Please don't ask to go down to the basement!
Jenny was making it so damn difficult. If he completely surrendered to her, then there was no way of telling whether she would even leave his house alive again.
She would not tempt him to go downstairs.
Jenny leaned in closer, and now her candy-flavoured lips were inches from his. "No. No TV or Twitcher, NNY. I told you... I want to see your dark side..."
Shit, shit, shit!
She started leading him towards the basement, and he wasn't even trying to stop her now. It was as if she cast a spell over him.
Fuck. This was it. All of NNY's deepest, darkest secrets would be laid bare.
They descended the stairs to the basement, and NNY's pulse pounded through his ears. Meanwhile, Jenny cast her eyes around, reading all the subliminal messages written across the walls in blood.
When they reached the bottom, she peered at a long table of torture tools, picking up a clamp. "What's this for?"
NNY bit his lip. "Um... applying pressure to a man's skull. Heh."
She placed it back on the table, picking up a wrench this time. "And I'm guessing you don't unscrew bolts with this?"
NNY exhaled. "No, I unscrew noses... Jenny... you should be way more alarmed than this. The stuff on this table is child's play compared to what I have below. Where is your fear?!"
He squeezed his hands into fists for dramatic effect, yet she only picked up a corkscrew, giggling when she twisted the handle. "It turns!"
NNY stomped towards her, snatching it from her hand. "Give me that!"
She looked at him in complete shock after he yelled at her. NNY hated having to raise his voice, but she left him no choice.
Those tools weren't meant to be played with.
"Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you? That stuff will fuck with your pretty mind!"
Jenny hung her head, trying to gather her composure. NNY hoped he hadn't upset her. He really didn't mean to get so angry.
She was just taking her enthusiasm a little too far.
Finally, she peered up, and the haunted look in her eyes made NNY tremble.
She looked like a creepy porcelain doll.
"Trust me, NNY... my mind is far from pretty. If only you could smash it open and see for yourself... which... I'm sure you could..."
She bit her bottom lip in order to entice him, and NNY's cock jolted when her teeth dug into the plump flesh.
Then he shook his head, pushing her back up the stairs.
"Okay, that's enough basement for you. Besides, I would never smash your head open, Jenny. No matter how unpretty you may be deep, deep down. Because I know you're not like all the others..."
Jenny turned his way. "What others?"
He stumbled, thinking about all the other women he had dragged down into his basement. They had all been so beautiful too, but only on the outside. Yet NNY soon made their outsides look like their insides.
"I... I meant other people, of course. Men, women, clowns, I've lost count."
Jenny seemed pleased with his response, glancing hopefully at another set of stairs. "Can we go down further? Please, NNY?
He stopped pushing her up the stairs, glancing into her pleading eyes. They were so full of love, yet he couldn't stand to see that love vanish.
But he also didn't have the heart to deny her wish.
Should he just let her go down? He didn't have to take her too far.
He sighed. "Okay. I can take you into one of the emptier rooms. Nothing too unsightly there."
Jenny almost looked a little disappointed that she wouldn't get to see anything too distressing, but he brushed it off, stopping in front of her.
"What is it?" she asked.
He brandished a blindfold, and her mouth parted. "You... want me to wear that?"
She bit her lip again, batting her eyelashes.
NNY grunted. "Yes, but not in that kind of way, you minx! I just don't want you to see anything..."
She smiled, turning around for him. "Okay. Your wish is my command, NNY."
Fuck. He really wished she would stop talking like that. It was enough to make him lose his nerve.
He tied the blindfold around her eyes, and once again his dick reacted at the sight of her. All she was missing now was a mouth gag and ropes for her hands, and then the look would be complete...
NNY would show her how much of a real maniac he could be...
He shook his head to distract his thoughts again, leading her down the stairs.
As an extra precaution, he placed a pair of ear muffs around her ears so she wouldn't be able to hear anything too.
Hear no evil, see no evil...
He soon brought her to a small, spare room with no current occupants, casting his gaze toward a pile of empty buckets.
Shit. NNY had left the bucket upstairs.
He removed her blindfold and earmuffs. "Stay here. I forgot to grab our 'paint'. You still want to paint, right?"
She smiled. "More than anything..."
"Good. I'll be back in a few moments. No moving away from this room."
She nodded. "Got it."
Should he leave her? He had no choice; it wasn't as if any real paint was lying around anyway, and he had to teach Jenny how to be a 'real' artist.
But he knew he could take her word for it. So he rushed back upstairs to grab the bucket of blood. When he returned, he was hardly surprised to still find her standing where he left her.
She had her ear pressed to the wall, and NNY watched her speechless. Wait... was she trying to listen out for...?
No. Not possible. Only NNY had known of that monster's existence.
Jenny stopped listening to the wall, glancing his way. "It's like a labyrinth down here. I can't believe all of this is beneath your house, NNY."
NNY exhaled, leaning against the wall. To his delight, it wasn't soft. It hadn't been soft for a while now.
Nothing was trying to crawl its way out anymore.
So keeping it wet with blood seemed a little superfluous now, but Jenny wanted him to teach her how to paint his way...
It seemed she was through with being a landscape artist.
"Yes. Welcome to my subterranean lair, Jenny. Now, go on. Knock yourself out."
He gestured his hand towards the bucket of blood.
Jenny hesitated, gazing down at the bucket in wide-eyed horror. NNY peeled his back away from the wall, watching her with ominous eyes.
"What's wrong? Are you having second thoughts?"
Her bottom lip moved, and it appeared she was about to say something. But then she swallowed, sucking in a deep breath.
NNY leaned closer, almost whispering into her ear. "Go on, Jenny. Paint to your heart's content... Find a home for those creatures that fester inside your pretty mind..."
Jenny's eyes turned large and glassy. Heavy breaths escaped her as she couldn't tear her gaze away from the bucket.
Sweat dripped down her face, and it looked as if she was about to lose her nerve. NNY shouldn't be so harsh with her, but he had to provoke her somehow.
This was what she wanted after all. To paint like a real artist.
"Or maybe you don't have it in you..."
Finally, she tore her gaze away from the paint bucket, dark shadows settling over her face. "Like fuck I don't."
NNY blinked. Holy shit. That's the first time he ever heard her curse.
It was beautiful...
Suddenly, she screamed, grabbing the bucket to throw it at the wall. It splashed their faces, but NNY could only watch astounded as she lost all control.
Blood dripped down the wall as they stood in silence. Jenny panted for breath, gazing at the wall like it was her greatest foe.
Didn't NNY know the feeling...
She didn't do anything for a while. She just gazed at that big red blotch of blood as if a monster were about to crawl out and kill her.
NNY shuffled his feet. "Well... what are you waiting for? Paint something."
Jenny closed her eyes, a sigh escaping her lips. Her face was covered in specks of blood, and she had never looked more beautiful at that moment.
NNY wanted to kiss her again. Even if she was covered in gore.
"I... I don't know how..." she whispered, and her voice was barely audible. It took NNY back to the time he first laid eyes on her at the CD Cesspool.
Such a quiet little mouse she had been back then.
It seemed her previous zest for blood had all but vanished. She must have used up all her reserves.
NNY helped her along. "Well, paint one of the creatures that live inside your head."
Jenny glanced his way, sucking in a deep breath. "O-okay..."
With shaking hands, she reached for a paintbrush, creating a series of shapes with blood. Before long, they had a field of pretty red flowers.
NNY scoffed. "Flowers?
Jenny lowered the brush. "I'm sorry. I just can't find the monster in me. It looks like I will never be a real artist like you after all, NNY."
NNY watched her sadly. All that build-up and for what? A painting of flowers? Okay, she painted them with blood, but they were still hardly terrifying.
It seemed she was suffering from a creative block. NNY was the last person to help her get over a block.
He hadn't painted anything in years. But he could still try.
With a trembling breath, he stood behind her, grabbing her hand with the paintbrush. "Here, try something like this..."
He slashed at the wall with the paintbrush, the same hand movements he used when he was stabbing a guy, and something awoke inside him.
NNY was painting. With blood, yet he felt that old spark igniting inside him.
It was small, but there. He just had to give it more fuel.
He slashed again and again, using Jenny as a puppet, and what do you know? NNY was actually creating something...
A giggle rattled at the back of his throat as he completely let go, and he could almost feel his inner artist again.
NNY once painted masterpieces. But once the wall monster took complete control of him, he lost all sense of himself.
Including his ability to create.
He used to pour every bit of himself into those paintings. He would lose all touch with reality, opening up a world of pure terror and imagination.
His demons would pave the way, taking any form they wished.
Before long, he stopped, gasping for breath. He still held onto Jenny's hand like she was his little puppet, and he had forgotten all about her.
She didn't seem to care that he just used her. In fact, she seemed to be enjoying herself. Her eyes were closed as her chest heaved, keeping rhythm with NNY's own breaths
NNY finally got a look at what they had just created together. He stumbled back, gazing up at that eldritch horror
Fuck.
It was a tentacled monster. One NNY had only ever seen in his mind...
But he knew better than to believe that this thing had only ever existed in his brain. After all, this thing once controlled his every action, and it truly was disturbing.
So... this was who the doughboys had served?
It was hideous.
Just... how had Jenny known what it looked like?
Had she seen it for herself?