Categories > Celebrities > My Chemical Romance > Stockholm Syndrome

One

by whoah-that 5 reviews

Category: My Chemical Romance - Rating: R - Genres: Angst,Drama - Characters: Frank Iero - Warnings: [V] - Published: 2010-07-10 - Updated: 2010-07-11 - 1999 words - Complete

5Exciting
When Paulina came to, she thought she’d gone blind. She opened her eyes, then closed them, then opened them again, noticing that there was no difference between the two states. It was only when she brought her hand up to her face, just barely seeing the dark outline, that she deemed herself, not blind, but just in a very dark place. She rubbed her face, noting that she felt a bruise forming on the apple of her right cheek.

“Ouch,” she said loudly, more to estimate how large the room was in which she was trapped than out of pain. The echo of her voice told Paulina that she was in a very large, very heavily-walled room. A basement? Perhaps…

Paulina looked around once more, wishing she could see. No, she didn’t even mind the temporary blindness; Paulina just wished she knew where she was. She was beginning to get more and more frightened, a feeling that increased with every second that passed without answers to all her questions.

Suddenly, a small square of light appeared at a point high above Paulina’s line of vision. She squinted in even the minimal amount of light, holding her hand up so that she could see past the blinding glare. A person stepped in the way, their body becoming a black mass surrounded by bright light. It slowly descended the stairs, one hand on the banister, one in a pocket. As it came further and further down the stairs, Paulina saw that it was a man. Closer still, and she saw that it was the man whose cigarette she had lit on the walk home from school.

Paulina’s stomach knotted up and she backed up against the wall, feeling her back hit the stone surface. Her knees shook, and she bit her lower lip. The man sauntered casually over to her, looking down at the girl cowering in front of him without an ounce of feeling anywhere in his body.

“W-what do you--you--” Paulina gulped. “What do you want from me?” she finished meekly.

As an answer, the man reached out his hand for Paulina to take. She stared at it for a moment in disbelief, before beginning to tentatively reach out to grab the man’s hand. Apparently, it wasn’t fast enough for him, because he reached forward and grabbed her forearm, yanking her roughly to her feet and tossing her away from himself mercilessly. While Paulina was still trying to gather herself from the man-handling, her assailant grabbed her shoulder and swung her around, slamming her back into the stone wall. He had a hand on each of her wrists, a forefinger pinning each of Paulina’s small, white hands to the wall so that her arms were reached out as far as they would go to each side.

“Here’s a tip: don’t ask questions,” the man said calmly, his expression passive and unfeeling. “But I’ll answer that one, since it is pertinent to our…situation.” he continued, his face so close to Paulina’s that she could smell the nicotine on his breath as he spoke. Involuntarily, she turned her head away so she wouldn’t have to inhale the tobacco-smell. It made her nauseous. Wrong move.

The man grabbed her chin and forced her to face him, pushing his face even closer to Paulina’s. He continued to speak. “Consider all of this…an experiment. And you…well, you are the variable that we can change at our will.” We? Paulina’s mind raced with the possibilities of how many other people held her life in their hands.

The man let go of her wrist and chin, stepping away to examine her for a moment, as Paulina nursed her sore jaw with her hand, lower lip trembling as she did so. Paulina sniffed, and just as she drew in that breath, the man, quick as a flash, shot his arm out, grabbing her by her slim, white throat and pinning her against the wall once more. Paulina struggled to breathe, her toes dangling an inch or so off the ground. She closed her eyes tightly, tiny squeaks escaping her throat in her quest for air. As suddenly as it had happened, it was over, and Paulina was laying in a crumpled heap on the floor, cowering at her captor’s feet. She faced the wall, breathing deeply and trying to stop the tears that were building up from breaking the confines of her fair, gray irises.

She felt a sharp kick at her back, sending her mind reeling with the pain. Paulina couldn’t help but cry out, tears finally breaking free and creating salty paths down her cheeks. Kick after kick was thrown at her backside, the defenseless girl trying to convince herself each time that it was over, and crying even harder when it wasn’t.

Finally, the attack stopped, and Paulina was certain she was alone. She sat up and turned around, drying her eyes until she saw the light go off and the door close. Paulina tried to steady her breathing, failing as it came out in shaky gasps. For about fifteen minutes, she remained huddled on the floor, arms around her shins, rocking slightly back and forth to comfort herself. Then, her thoughts took over.

What time was it? How many hours had passed? Was it possibly another day? What were her parents thinking? Tears started flowing once more in Paulina’s eyes as she thought about what her parents must have been going through. Did they think she was dead? Run away? Gone for good? A wave of guilt passed over Paulina’s body, knowing that her parents were probably frantically worried about her. She cried harder, knowing that she probably wouldn’t ever see them again. Paulina struggled to remember the last thing she’d said to them.

“Bye, honey! Have a good day at school!”

“Okay, Mom, I will. I love you.”

“I love you, too!”

“Don’t forget, you have a dentist appointment at four, so hurry home!”

“I know, Dad. Love you.”

“You too, kiddo.”


The guilt eased up, but not by much. At least they knew she loved them, and they hadn’t gotten into a stupid fight or anything. Paulina still wished vainly that she could see her parents one last time, and give them hugs and tell them she was alright. Even if she didn’t quite know for sure about the last one. In fact, she was probably luck to have lived this long.

Paulina then began to wonder if these people, whoever they were, planned to kill her. Probably. What had that man meant by ‘experiment’? Did that mean they were going to run tests on her? Shoot her with drugs? Paulina shuddered to think. She wished her mind could be quiet, and she could sleep a little bit. If not for the fact that she was exhausted emotionally and physically, then because she wanted to while away some time.

Suddenly, the door at the top of the stairs opened once more, and the familiar body filled the frame. A jolt of fear, ten times worse than the first time it had opened, shot through Paulina’s stomach, and she tried to back up, even though her back was already pressed painfully into the wall, extra-sensitive because of the beating she’d received from the man who was now approaching her again. He slowly walked up, squatting down in front of Paulina and studying her intently.

“Does it hurt?” he asked finally, continuing to hold his gaze on hers. Paulina, wide-eyed, nodded quickly, biting her trembling lower lip. “Would you like me to massage it?” Paulina’s eyes grew even wider, and she shook her head vehemently, not making a sound. The man sighed, reaching out a hand and placing it on her shoulder, sliding it around to grasp the back of her neck. The man squeezed, gently at first, and then harder and harder, until Paulina whimpered in pain. “Would you like me to massage it?” he repeated, locking onto Paulina’s gaze and not letting go. Paulina nodded slowly, begging the tears in her eyes not to fall and show this man weakness. “Alright,” he said gently, placing his hand on her shoulder. “Lay on your stomach, then.”

Paulina did as she was told, although hesitantly, and placed her stomach against the cold stone floor. It was only then that she realized that she was no longer in her clothes from school. To the contrary, all she was wearing no was a men’s too-big button-up shirt, a tie, and a pair of underwear. She couldn’t make out the colors of the shirt or the tie, but they seemed to be darkly shaded. The shirt rode up slightly as she laid down, exposing her rear-end a bit. Paulina blushed, but didn’t dare try to sit back up, for fear of what the man would do to her for disobeying.

He lightly brushed the black hair away from Paulina’s neck, resting his hand there for a moment to rub his thumb over the spot where he had hurt her. Paulina allowed herself to relax a bit further, his gentility comforting her, somewhat, and easing her nerves, just a bit.

The tenseness quickly returned, however, when, to Paulina’s horror, the man began to lift the shirt and expose her bare, pale back. She resisted, pressing her stomach firmly into the ground to keep the shirt from being drawn back any further. The man froze, gripping the shirt tightly in his fists. Frightened by his reaction, Paulina quickly relented and allowed him to pull the shirt up around her chest, tucking the hem securely behind her shoulders so it wouldn’t fall.

He began dragging his fingertips lightly up and down Paulina’s back, criss-crossing patterns across her flesh and making it crawl with goose-bumps. His cool, soft fingers felt so good on her red, irritated, and bruised back.

“So,” he said quietly as he began to rub and massage her skin. “What’s your name?”

“Paulina,” she answered softly, closing her eyes as her head rested in her arms. It was very relaxing, being massaged like this, despite the stressful situation. She couldn’t help but let sleep tug at her mind, making her drowsy and sleepy. “What’s your--” she began, but stopped. She wasn’t about to forget the first thing she’d been taught by this man: don’t ask questions.

“My name is Frank,” the man said, understanding her slip-up, and letting it slide…for now.

“Frank…” Paulina murmured, nodding. She yawned quietly, trying not to let the man, Frank, know that she was beginning to let her guard down, against her better judgment.

All too soon, Frank was sliding Paulina’s shirt back down her body and standing up to leave. “I wouldn’t fall asleep, if I were you,” he told her, stopping at the foot of the stairs, and speaking without turning around.

“Wha--” Paulina caught herself once more before she asked a question that could elicit another harsh punishment.

“Let’s just say, you have a long night ahead of you.” With that, Frank walked back up the stairs, opening the door at the top and letting the basement flood briefly with light, before disappearing through it and closing it behind him, allowing Paulina to hear a very audible click as a key turned in the lock.


[*So, I've been told that there have been other fics with this title that have a similar storyline. I really hope it's not too similar to other works, but I really don't think it will be. I'd also like to say that I'm pleasantly surprised with how well this is being received already. I'll try not to disappoint. Thanks for subscribing and commenting and rating, it makes my day. So get to it. OverAndOutxx

PS: I
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