Trapped In Another Time (Yandere Alastor x Reader) (Hazbin Hotel)

Act Before Thinking

Ben didn't move, he couldn't, he was practically frozen on the spot like a deer stuck in headlights. You were mentally beating yourself up for not realising this sooner, without thinking, you pull him back inside the house and shut the door.
"Ben, I am so sorry for that, I completely forgot that at this time people are returning home" you apoligise while trying not to freak out yourself.
"I must admit, I was not expecting myself to react like that" Ben admitted quietly "is this normal?"
You look at him gobsmacked and had to try and keep your voice calm so you didn't sound like a maniac "yes, of course this is normal, you've been somewhere quiet for nearly 24 hours, and then I let you step out of this place without warning and the first thing your introduced to is the sound of a lorry's horn"
Breathe Foxglove, breathe, otherwise you won't be of much help.
You do your standard breathing technique to keep yourself stable before speaking again "you were basically feeling overwhelmed, or sensory overload as its normally called, this can happen to anyone, whether you have a mental problem or not"
Ben was still pale as you explained this, but he seemed to be okay since he wasn't having a panic/anxiety attack "I can see why you suggested the 'tapping system' as you called it"
"Yeah" you mumble while looking away from him "look, we don't have to hold hands or link arms if it makes you uncomfortable, that's the last thing I want, but I do want you to stay close enough that you can tap my hand or wrist if you can't find yourself talking"
"That's, fair" he takes a deep breath and slowly exhales "alright, let's try this again, I really could do with some fresh air"
You open the door again and allow Ben to go first, making sure to stay silent the entire time. He took more cautious movements as he stepped outside, looking around like a weary animal.
You were honestly surprised he could look fine while being cautious, muscle memory perhaps?
A car rushes past at a higher speed than it should have, causing Ben to jump at the sudden noise, but he still pressed on. You shut the door, lock it, then place your keys into your zip pocket before making your way cautiously towards Ben, making sure to stay a few inches away from his side and staying quiet as he tried to digest the area.
You really should have known this may happen, when you were bringing him home, he had been so focused on trying to stay on his feet that he had no time to sightsee. Plus the roads had been silent due to how late it had been.
"Let's get going shall we?"
You turn to Ben and are met with, someone different. Ben was smiling, with teeth, but it didn't look right.
It looked wobbly. Wrong.
You force yourself to look away and begin the walk back into town, Ben following behind for a moment before walking next to you on the sidewalk.

You both stayed silent the entire time, Ben's arm bumped into yours every now and then, but you do your best to not to draw attention to it. Other than to glance.
Every so often he would jump from a car moving fast from behind, he would look at buildings like he had never seen them before, and when people walked past the both of you, he would avoid eye contact but they would look at him as if he was an alien, his smile wasn't helping but you were not going to say anything about it.
He would also move closer to you as if they were going to attack him, you think. You couldn't see his face so it was very hard to tell. He was clearly more afraid than he let on and you would be dammed if you set a panic attack off.
"We're almost in the town" you say to him loud enough that he could hear you but, hopefuly no one else could "you doing okay?"
There's a moment of silence before you feel a brief tap on your hand. So far so good.
"Perfect, well, the place I have in mind is a bit small, but, it's quiet with the occasional talking" you pause for a second, unsure if he knew what you were talking about "do you know what a library is? One for yes, two for no if you-"
You were cut off by a tap, so he did know "ok, well that makes it easier to explain, the shop is basically like that, they don't like loud noises unless there are people who can't help it"
This time Ben turned to look at you, still smiling, but his eyebrows looked scrunched up, was it confusion? You couldn't tell.
"Do you, want me to explain why they can't help it?"
One tap. Yes.
"Some people can't help what they do, it's like..."
You stop talking, mostly because you aren't sure how to describe it, but also because you would be describing yourself.
"A piece of machine malfunctioning, and no matter how much you try to fix it, nothing works" you frown "no that doesn't make sense, I'm sorry but describing things isn't my strong suit"
This time he pats your arm in what you think was a comforting gesture.
"People don't seem to realise that the human body is just as much of a machine as any other piece of metal" you say quietly "we're just, made differently, some of us are missing a few nuts and bolts but we can still function like any other person, there are just a few, kinks, that make us operate in a different manner"
You near a crossing and quickly tell Ben to stop walking while pressing the 'cross' button, he looked in confusion but stays where he was respectfully.
"Some people can't talk so they sound like a child learning how to speak for the first time, some babble and some have physical coordination issues, there are many other problems but, it doesn't make us any different to someone who doesn't have issues"
Cars stop and the lights begin to change, and then you realised your second mistake. The traffic lights began to make a beeping noise. He's practically covering his ears as the sound pierces his eardrums. Yours were suffering too but you had better control.
You freaking twit. Utter moron.
You mentally curse and call yourself stupid many times as you help guide Ben across the road as he looked at the lights like they were going to jump at him.
"I'm so sorry Ben, I forgot to warn you that those lights would make a beeping noise, don't worry though, it's just to let us know that its safe to cross the road, I don't know why it has to be that pitch though because it hurts my ears too" you ramble.
You would have continued if it wasn't for the harsh pressure on your arm. You almost yelp when you turn to see who grabbed you. Only to freeze when you realise it's Ben, who was looking a little pale. His wobbly smile was now completely gone.
You don't dare talk to him or poke him in this state, you do however look around for a bench for him to sit on. You give him a gentle tug and were silently surprised when he followed willingly. His other hand limps beside him.
The few shops that were around you were not suitable to bring Ben in while in this state, they were too loud and had one too many people in them, just one wrong move could trigger a panic attack.
You should know because it's happened once before, and wasn't a pleasant experience, especially when you got people looming down on you like a bunch of owls trying to figure out who's having the snack.
You cautiously move your knees close to his but not touching, hoping that having merely your body heat would be enough to keep him grounded, you don't think he would like being touched in this state, if the incident from the forest was anything to go by.
"Your safe, breathe through your nose, hold for 3 seconds, and slowly exhale through the mouth" you whisper to him before doing what you had just suggested.
You don't see much from his face but you do see his shoulders raise, hold, then drop. You don't say anything else, you just continued doing the breathing exercises.
Thankfully there weren't many people walking about, so you didn't need to look up much unless you heard footsteps getting close to your position. Otherwise, your main focus was all on Ben. He needed you and you would curse yourself to hell than leave him alone.
You continue to do the breathing exercises in silence, trying hard not to alter your breathing while also keeping a reasonable distance from him. You stopped when you saw his hand start to twitch though, and it wasn't subtle either.
You don't see his eyes flickering around the place as he tried to process what he was seeing for the first time. You don't see his other hand clenching into a fist as he tried to fight off the pounding headache he was getting from how bright everything looked, and how loud it was.
More so than usual.
You hear a small gulp sound followed by a shaky exhale. He lets go of your arm and places both of them in his lap. You have to bite your tongue to stop yourself from asking a stupid question. Are you feeling better now?
So you settle with fiddling with your sleeves and waiting in silence.
"I must be one messed up machine if you're trying to fix me without a reward" you hear him whisper as he looks straight ahead.
"Broken or not Ben, everything, everyone, deserves a chance to be repaired, we're all born with a screw loose in some way, it's up to us to decide how we continue to function" you reply in the same manner.
Ben could only hope you were telling the truth.
Because looking at the streets of this alien world, everything in it screamed wr0ng to him.
Like he wasn't meant to be here. Should never be.