Chapter Text
The beam of light rolled along the inside of the abandoned building. Jay's gaze rolled along the debris scattered floor. Dust stirred up softly from his shuffling, flying back and forth in front of his flashlight. Alone with only his thoughts to guide him, Jay remembered the reason why he was here in the first place. He was on a case, as an amateur paranormal investigator, looking for a hairless, dog-like creature. Many of the locals of the area had claimed to have seen it just out of the corner of their vision late at night while out in or near the woods. It was Jay's job to find it and document it, to obtain cold hard proof of its existence.
"Hello?"
Jay turned towards the question, gripping the flashlight tightly in his hand. The light ended up shining on a short, thin man, his eyes obscured by a baseball cap. Dressed in a black t-shirt and ripped jeans, Jay's eyes immediately went to the machete clipped to the man's belt, then to the man's face. "Hello?" He echoed back. The man grinned widely.
"Well, hi there! It's a bit late to be out and about, isn't it? What are you doing?" The man's voice had an odd pitch to it, but Jay didn't think anything of it, too busy thinking about how to answer the other. Was he trespassing? He hadn't seen a sign out, but then, Jay wasn't the most observant person when he was focused on finding a specific thing.
"Oh, I'm, uh, looking for something. Maybe you've heard about it? Long, skinny, hairless? Looks a little like a dog?" He asked. The man's smile brightened and stretched ear to ear. He laughed, and Jay felt a little tense. This man was cheerful, a little overly so.
"Well, what do ya know? I'm looking for it too! Although, why are you looking for it in here? Doesn't it usually like to be out and about?" The man's eyes glanced around. He spoke again before Jay could answer. "Hey, I've got an idea! Why don't we look for it together? After all, it looks like I came here better prepared than you did!" He patted the holstered machete. Jay glanced between it and the man.
"Uh, sure." He mumbled. The man started strolling towards the open doorway. The door had been taken a long time ago. "What's your name? I'm Jay, Jay Merrick."
"Jay. I've heard that name before." The man hummed. "My name is Habit." Habit walked along the woods with ease. Jay had a much harder time of it, his flashlight often having to illuminate troublesome roots that he probably would have tripped over otherwise.
Eventually, Habit stopped, sniffing the air. "You smell that?" He grunted before whistling.
"Uh, no?" Jay responded, before turning his head as the underbrush to the right of them exploded with the snapping of twigs and the dry crunch of leaves underfoot. Guttural growling could be heard as something came out from the brush, a grey-skinned monster, just as the locals had described. Jay's jaw dropped and he felt rooted to the forest floor as Habit wrapped his arms around the monster's neck and slapped at it's stretched skin.
"There you are! What happened, you spot some pretty bitch?" Habit seemed to have completely forgotten about Jay, laughing at his own joke. It was only when Jay squeaked did Habit turn his head towards him, teeth flashing. "What's the matter? You wanted to find it, right?"
"W-What is that?!" Jay exclaimed, finally finding his voice again. Habit huffed and straightened up.
"It's a piece of work, that's what it is. Always going off to fuck up some dame." Then, to the creature, "You go home. I'm gonna have some fun." The creature disappeared back into the underbrush as Habit rounded on Jay, his smile in a whole new light.
"Have you ever been possessed, Jay?" He purred. Jay hesitated. His mind was screaming danger, but he couldn't move.
"No....Well....I don't know. There was a time when- Oh, but you'll think I'm crazy." Habit laughed at this as he took to circling Jay.
"No, no, go on. Tell me." Habit looked interested. In truth, he wanted to hear just what kind of crazy, batshit story this fucker had. He bet it was aliens.
Jay took a slow breath. "Well, there used to be this thing that followed me. It was tall, faceless, and pale as snow. Wore a business suit." Habit seemed to recoil a little, but quickly drew closer, got right up in Jay's face.
"What do you mean, "used to" follow you? There ain't no "used to" with it, kid. You either make a deal with it to save your own skin, or you die, and you don't seem like the type to make a deal with it." Habit snarled. Jay leaned back, apprehension, but also curiosity in his eyes.
"You know it? Can you tell me more about it?" He asked. Cautiously optimistic. Habit grunted again.
"Yeah, i know it. It's a bitch, is what it is. A fucking stick in the mud. It normally doesn't leave people alone. So why'd it leave you? Were you just too boring?" Habit cackled, which caused Jay to frown at the insult.
"I think I should get going." He murmured, turning to leave. Habit was in front of him in an instant, his rude demeanor quickly shifting to a charming smile.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey. Don't go. The night is still young. Why don't we get a drink together? I'll buy you anything you want. Tell me more about yourself." Habit smoothly offered. Jay wasn't having any of it, though, and started to walk away. Habit snarled, a deep, animalistic noise, and grabbed Jay's arm, easily pulling him back and into a choke hold. The machete was out in seconds, pressed against Jay's ribs. Jay whimpered, eyes wide.
"W-What are you doing? What do you want?!" He was barely keeping himself from trembling. Habit drew in a long, slow breath.
"Babe, I'm mankind's bad Habit. I wasn't kidding when I expressed interest in why ol' stick in the mud left you alone. I want and take the things it wants, and, well, it wanted you. So, how about a game of cat and mouse, huh?" He let go of Jay. Jay immediately took the opportunity to run. He bolted through the brush, even as brambles and burrs picked at his skin. He cried out as Habit suddenly appeared in front of him. "Awww, you're running back to me already? Is the big bad world just that awful?" He purred. Jay turned and scrambled away again.
Habit kept appearing, flashes of him out of the corner of Jay's eyes, until Jay felt something tackle him. Jay whimpered as his face was pressed into the dirt, his nostrils clogging with the warm smell of the Earth.
"I win! What's my prize?" Habit hummed. Jay shuddered, squirming underneath the other, trying to get away, but Habit had him pinned down. Despite being smaller, the man had inhuman strength.
"Please don't hurt me! P-Please!" He cried. Habit gripped Jay's hair, fingers roughly grasping at his locks, threatening to tear the hair out. Jay whined again as Habit whispered in his ear.
"Oh, but Jay, your cries are a thing of beauty." Jay felt a tongue lap at his tears, making him shudder in revulsion. He screamed as Habit suddenly dug his knife into his shoulder. If he placed it right, it should hit right where the nerves were, and cause pain to sprout all over Jay's body at random. Jay sobbed and writhed, snot dripping down his face. His cries only grew as Habit leaned in and took a chunk of Jay's shoulder out with his teeth, hungrily devouring the morsel.
"Did you hear that? It sounded like another attack!" A voice sounded from nearby. Habit looked up and snarled at having been interrupted so early into his prize. He leaned to whisper into Jay's ear again.
"Stay quiet, unless you want innocent people to die." He growled before pulling Jay upright with ease. Jay seemed to get the gist, but couldn't stop crying completely. Habit gave Jay an annoyed look before the world changed. Suddenly, Jay and Habit were in a house. The strain from his shoulder and the teleportation was too much for Jay, and he ended up vomiting all over the entrance mat. Habit gave Jay a repulsed look and let go of him, letting him fall into his own mess.
"Vinnie! Come clean this shit up!" He barked. Vinnie quickly came down the stairs. Habit swept a hand over Jay. "This is Jay. I'm keeping him." He announced before going towards the stairs, presumably to his room.
Vinnie knelt besides Jay, helping him up and taking him up towards the bathroom to get him cleaned up. Sitting Jay on the toilet, he helped him get rid of his shirt. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. It's going to be alright. Okay? Let's clean you up and then get you some new clothes, okay?"
"T-Thank you." Jay managed through stifled sobs. Vinnie started patching Jay up, taking note of Jay's injuries. Some dirt had gotten in the wound from when Habit had ripped a chunk of flesh out, but that was easily cleaned. Vinnie left Jay to shower while he got him a shirt from his closet and a pair of shorts from Evan's, leaving them outside the bathroom door.
After getting dressed, Jay wandered a little aimlessly down the hallway until Habit came out of his room. "Jesus fucking christ, we really need to get you some clothes that fucking fit." Habit joked. Jay, far from being amused, recoiled in terror, covering his face and whining. Habit approached him, causing Jay to back into a corner and curl in on himself. "Whoa, whoa. I didn't think the prospect of new clothes would terrify you that much." He remarked. Jay peeked out from behind his fingers.
"Are you going to k-kill me?" He squeaked out. Habit shuddered slightly. Jay sounded beautiful when he was scared. He wanted to know what other noises this boy could make, and it took all his willpower not to pounce on him then and there.
"Do you think I would have offered you new clothes if I were going to? Not now, anyway. C'mon. Let me show you around the house." Habit offered a hand to Jay, pulling him up and started leading him around. "The bedroom on the right is mine. The one down the hall on the left is Vinnie's. You can sleep wherever the fuck you want, besides those two rooms. Then there's the attic. Don't go there unless I tell you to. And don't try to leave the fucking house. Actually, do, because that shit is fucking hilarious, watching you idiots try at something you'll never succeed at. Oh, I still remember when Vinnie would try. Good times." He laughed before continuing. "Don't touch my cats without my permission. There's Isabelle, then there's Pig. Oh, sometimes I bring guests over. Don't talk to them unless I give you permission. And I think that's everything. I'm sure Vinnie can tell you more tips on how to survive here. Just don't piss me off, and you'll be fine."
Jay highly doubted he would be. Nothing about this was fine. He didn't say anything, though. He didn't want to upset Habit. Habit clapped Jay on his injured shoulder, causing him to wince. "You and Vinnie play nice, now. I'm gonna go hunting." He remarked.
And then he was gone, leaving Jay with pain and the feeling that he'd gotten himself mixed up in something awful.