𝙳𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚂𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝

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The quiet chatter down the corridor made Toby's head swivel. He slipped his arm around Y/N's waist and pulled her into the shop, closing the gate behind them. Y/N's face went into a slight shock as she was brought behind the cashier counter. She was about to protest, but Toby put a gloved hand over her mouth, silencing her.

The flashlight in the hallway grew brighter until it shined into the room they were in. It cast shadows on the wall. Y/N looked at Toby's face before gently removing his hand from her mouth and holding it. It took everything in Toby not to crack a smile at the hand holding, but he was snapped back to reality when he heard the people in the hall talking.

"There's no one here." A female voice said, to which a male voice replied:

"Then how the hell did all that glass break?" He asked. Their footsteps slowly faded into the distance. Y/N exhaled a relieved breath, and she peeked around the corner of the cabinets. They left.

"I think those were police officers," Toby whispered, leaning to peek around the counter with Y/N.

"Thanks, Captian Obvious." She murmured back, smiling slightly. Her eyes traveled back to their hands—they were still clasped together. Y/N's face was tinted with blush, and she slowly let go of his hand, only for him to squeeze it more.

"Not yet; they could still be out there," Toby stated as an excuse to hold her hand. Y/N sighed and clasped his hand again. They waited for a while, and Y/N's thoughts were soon focused solely on his hand. Even through the glove, it felt like his hand was so rough and calloused compared to her's, mostly likely from his frequent use of weapons.

The mall went dead silent. Toby let go of Y/N's hand and stood. He crept over to the gate to check if the officers were truly gone.

"They're gone," Toby said, his voice now sounding at a normal level. Y/N nodded and came out of hiding. Though the light was dim, she could see the inside of the store. It looked just as she remembered it—like a moment frozen in time. She glanced around the clothing racks, and Toby followed her, looking at the stuff she was looking at.

"You can get whatever you want," Toby reminded her, stashing his hands in his pockets. She nodded happily, though there was still a lingering fear in the back of her mind about getting caught.

After what felt like hours to Toby but was really less than an hour, they left with bags filled with things for Y/N. They had things like shoes, clothes, feminine products, bathroom supplies, and everything else Y/N wanted. Every time they would leave a store, Y/N would make him leave some money, even though all the stores were closed down.

It was only around midday when they got outside. Toby took all the bags and loaded them into the back seat. Toby got into the passenger seat and tossed his hatchet on the back seat floorboard.

"Where next?" Toby asked, clicking in his seat belt. Y/N contemplated her options before deciding.

"We should go buy some food for the house," she answered. Y/N wasn't used to having the choice of where to go and what to buy due to her relationship with Brad. Usually Brad would be the one to pick where they go and what they do, so someone giving her the option was like a breath of fresh air.

They arrived at a small shopping center that was loaded with cars and people. Toby immediately became anxious; he felt around his pockets for his mouthguard, but he forgot it at home. Damnit. He was so focused on Y/N that he left it at his cabin. He silently panicked in his head.

Y/N parked in an open spot and turned off the car, storing the keys in her pocket. Toby looked over at her.

"Can I stay in the car?" He asked quickly, feeling overwhelmed by the sudden predicament.

"I'm going to need your help carrying stuff to the car," Y/N said, resting her hand on the door handle. Toby let out a breath he had been holding, looking out the windows cautiously. Y/N noticed his fidgety behavior and did something that was completely instinctual. She took his gloved hand and held it.

"You'll be fine," Y/N said, looking at him sincerely. "No one is going to be focused on you."

Toby's cheeks turned a faint pink, and he turned his head away for a moment. He was finally remembering why he never went out in public. The people. He was not a person in any way, shape, or form. Toby took a deep breath before nodding.

"Okay. Okay, I'll go," he said, opening his car door. Toby got out of the car, and reality set in fast. People with shopping carts and people driving cars. There were people outside the store looking at all the plants, or there were workers gathering the carts to put back into the store. Toby watched as his vision started to tunnel and his heart drummed against his chest. Toby couldn't remember the last time he was out in a crowded public setting all by himself, which was pretty sad considering he was a 28-year-old man.

Toby was too focused on everything around him to notice when Y/N took his hand again. She started to guide him in the direction of the store. Toby floated behind, trying not to freak out. It was like everything was ten times louder and ten times brighter. Toby put his hood up, trying to console himself in some sort of way.

The inside of the store was no better. The music that played over the intercom and the loud announcements that blasted over the store. The cluttered aisles of the store. The blistering white lights. Toby gritted his teeth, and on the edge of hyperventilating, he squeezed onto Y/N's hand for rest. Y/N didn't mind it; she grabbed a cart and pushed it into the store, walking around to find the bare minimum of food they would need. She would occasionally rub his hand with her thumb in a soothing manner.

Toby stuck close to Y/N the whole time, his head looking down or at the items that Y/N put in the cart. He was very out of place the whole time. Even though no one was paying attention to him, the voices in his head said otherwise. A long shopping trip later—with a few weird stares—they made it back to the parking lot. Y/N's cart was so filled with groceries that she pushed through the parking lot.

Toby was brought back to reality when one of the car horns blared, creating an awful ringing in his ears. Toby nearly jumped out of his own skin, and he broke into a nervous sweat. Y/N also jumped at the loud car horn before yelling at the car that honked at them. Y/N looked at Toby with a worried expression.

"Come on, we're almost back to the car," she said softly, taking a gentle hold of his sleeve and pulling him to the car. "That guy was an asshole," Y/N grumbled, looking back at the car that was so entitled as to honk its car horn.

Toby was almost in a state of shock, jumping at everything and everyone. Y/N started the car to get the air conditioning going, and Toby started loading the groceries into the trunk very quickly—almost frantically. Y/N was about to offer to help, but Toby had already finished putting the bags in the car.

"Can we go home?" Toby stuttered, leaning close to her as he glanced around. Y/N nodded.

"Yeah, I was planning on it. I don't think we need anything else from the  store." Y/N answered, feeling her pockets for her keys and pulling them out. Toby picked Y/N up around the hips.

"Hey!" Y/n protested. Toby opened the door to the back seat. He put her inside so she was lying down before crawling in after her and shutting the door behind them.


𝐀𝐦𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐚 (Ticci Toby x FEM reader) Where stories live. Discover now