1 Midnight Munchies

(this is both male and femald lead, i guess? i think that the division between the two is very stupid. also hatethe fact that i cant add italics, so this story might seem strange in some parts)

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Derek wasn't a heavy sleeper.

For his whole life, every creak of the house would wake him, if only for a few moments. He was, for the most part, able to fall back asleep, but he heard it all; Every car that drove by on the crunchy gravel road, every crow that cawed into the dreary night, perched high on the towering pine trees in his backyard.

His hearing had always been impeccable, sometimes able to pick up on conversations in distant rooms, even if it was only a few words. Still, It was often enough to earn him the upper hand, and even blackmail his sister on occasion. When she deserved it.

But it was thanks to this incredible gift (curse, he'd call it) that he was woken once again from another light slumber to the sound of light crinkling. He wrinkled his nose, letting out a long huff of slight annoyance but kept his eyes closed. That was the key, he learned, to just ignore everything like it wasn't there, and force himself back to sleep.

But as he lay there, still as a rock except the occasional rise and fall of his chest, he couldn't drift off again. The crinkling was back after a few agonizing seconds of silence, and he couldn't help his burning curiosity. He groaned, bringing a hand up to rub his head, pausing when it brushed against something soft and cushiony beside him. 

Oh yeah, he'd fallen asleep on the couch watching youtube. 

He paused for a moment at the weight on his chest, before realizing it was just his phone. Checking it revealed that it was nearing three in the morning. He shouldn't be awake at this hour, damn his restlessness.

For another solid minute Derek slowed his breathing like he was taught to do, relaxing his muscles back into the couch. He was too tired to get up and go back to his bed. Besides, it was warm in the livingroom and he found comfort in the soft glow emanating from the kitchen, slightly illuminating his surroundings. The dark was always unsettling for him, for many reasons he doesn't want to think about.

It was after that minute of laying there trying to will himself back to unconsciousness when he heard the same crinkle again, this time lasting a little bit longer. His curiosity got the better of him, and he peeked an eye open and glanced to his right, peering through his disheveled hair into the quiet living room. 

Nothing seemed amiss, yet he could have sworn the sound was right beside him. He kept his breathing slow and didn't move, giving no indication of his alertness, but stayed secretly on the lookout for disturbances. 

After another agonizing minute of silence the noise happened again, and this time Derek caught a glimpse of something glinting in the dim light. It was beside the coffee table and moved up and down only a little, but he saw it. 

It took only seconds for him to figure out that it was his discarded chip bag that he had torn through in a frenzied munchie hunger hours earlier. It was empty for the most part, the exception being some tiny loose chunks and spare crumbs. He grimaced, wondering if something had gotten into his leftovers; By the sight and sounds he could tell that the weight of it was heavier than any stray beetle that may have wandered into the log cabin home. It had to be a mouse then, maybe? But why was it taking so long, and where were the squeaks? 

His grimace remained as he sat up and cautiously reached an arm out, quickly snatching the bag from off the floor. He had to confirm if his suspicions were true, or see if he was completely delusional, even if that meant holding a feral trapped mouse in a plastic bag.

He rubbed his eyes with his free hand, and began to move the bag upwards towards himself, noticing that it definitely had some weight to it, that shifted awkwardly beneath his frantic grabbing. It was technically not the best way he could have gone about the situation, but he could deal with it. Put it back outside, or something. In all honesty, a part of him had just expected to find an empty bag and a few lonely crumbs meeting his eyes, but not whatever this was. 

He was ten thousand tracks of thought deep when he heard a noise that cancelled out all of his panicked brain rambling. A single, screamed out word.

"NO!"

***

The word had left Ria's mouth before she even registered that it was her own voice. As soon as it escaped she clamped a hand over her lips as if she could shove it back in. She didn't mean to put her life on the line and break two out of the three major life rules she lived by, but here she was, doing both in a matter of seconds. The damage had been done. 

She quickly moved her hands over her ears to try and block out the sudden insanely loud rustling of the bag, barely even registering the moment and footsteps around her as her heart pounded mercilessly against her ribcage 

Pure terror struck her as she lost her footing, landing hard into the cheesy bottom of the bag. Her clothes were instantly spattered with orange dust, that she knew would be a pain to get out later. If she somehow got out of this. She almost laughed at finding herself thinking of her clothes in the last few moments of her life, of all things. But then her mind went blank as the crinkling and movement stopped and light flooded into her plastic prison. Her hands shot up to shield her eyes, and after a brief period of adjusting she moved them and looked up.

But the sight of two giant eyes staring right back at her made her wish she hadn't looked. Half a face loomed over the top of the bag, and Ria's eyes went wide, pressing herself further away from the entrance. 

"What the hell," Came a booming voice, and she flinched as the words abruptly cut through the heavy silence that surrounded them. 

Suddenly the face disappeared and there was movement and loud crinkling again, but this time it only lasted a few seconds before she was jostled once more and.... put down? She recognized the feeling of a hard, flat surface beneath her, but didn't move from the push-up position she landed in.

This had to be a trap, or some sort of game the human was playing. She felt safer thinking she should stay put, but… Maybe this was her chance at freedom? Maybe he was just setting her down to grab something else? She didn't like the thought of him returning with god knows what-- Her mind raced down unpleasant routes at the ideas of what would happen to her if she stayed versus if she left, when suddenly the same low voice from before spoke up again.

"You can come out now, you're on the counter. It's safe."

Nope, definitely not safe. Definitely a trap. Ria stayed still and silent, not making a move for the exit. She could already see it happening- being grabbed up in a giant hand the second she showed herself, constricting her breathing, Crushing her bones--

"Hey," The voice spoke again, in that sickeningly fake sweet tone. "Can you understand me?" 

Another uncomfortably long period of silence washed over them again, before the human let out a sigh. Ria bristled; he was obviously getting irritated with her.

"I know you can speak English," That soft tone didn't break, until after another long pause. "Come onnn… You and I both heard that scream back there. Actually, pretty sure the whole neighborhood could hear it." He chuckled, but it was airy and humorless. 

Ria stayed tense, her limbs slightly trembling from fear. But she wouldn't give in to sheer panic yet, not until the human did something other than talk. Still, she worried about giving him the silent treatment for too long, fearing that it would only cause him to rise to anger and prolong the suffering of her death. She gulped, wondering if she could find a way to talk herself out of this. He already knew she could speak, so there was no point in not trying. 

She unclenched her jaw just enough to let her lips to part and her voice to escape. 

"I….  I can talk." She finally admitted.

***

Once again the tiny voice caught him off guard. It matched the source perfectly, an equally as tiny woman, but he still couldn't believe what was happening in front of him. Despite his shock a smile crept across his face as she answered, excited with the idea of communication with something he's never seen before. Or, some one rather. Endless questions bounced around his head- he needed to know so much more. 

"Well then," Derek started, his eager smile remaining, "would you answer a few questions for me?" 

Again, he was met with silence. It was then that he realized just how scared the voice sounded and the girl had looked, pressed up against the bottom of the chip bag like he was about to eat her next. He swallowed the lump rising in his throat, he wasn't good at dealing with these types of situations. 

"Okay how about a deal?" He tried, not letting her silence deter him. He figured he could use the same tactics here as he does with his sister; Some would call it bribery, but he'd rather think of it as 'incentive'.

"I promise I just wanna talk. So how about I ask some questions for a few minutes, you answer what you're comfortable with, and when I'm done you can have every last piece of chip in that bag. Sound fair?" 

He was going to let her have them anyway, as it's not like they're any use to him anymore, but again a little incentive never hurts. He hoped that would be enough for the girl, but if not he could always sweeten the deal with more food.

He was about to open his mouth to say something once more, to try and find the button that prompts the other to speak, but his words were cut off by the same small shaky voice from the bag. 

"O..Okay." 

Derek winced at the sound. Despite hearing an agreement, which was exactly what he wanted, he couldn't help but feel a little bad. He didn't want to force anything out of her, and she still sounded so scared. He figured that maybe he should just start with easy questions, instead of one of the crazy ones that bounced around his head ranging from 'do you grant wishes' to 'where did you get a shrink ray from'.

"Can I ask your name?" He started, hoping that it was an innocent enough of a question. His hopes were starting to fade again as more silence washed over them, but this time it was broken quicker than the last.

"... Ria."

"Ria?" He echoed, not really expecting a confirmation. "That's a nice name. I'm Derek, by the way."

He figured introducing himself as well would help her get over the fear of being interrogated by a big scary stranger, but even if they were acquainted there seemed to be nothing he could do about the big and scary part. She didn't seem to want to move from her position of cover, and frankly Derek didn't blame her. If he was small enough to fit in a chip bag, he doubted he'd want to be out in the open earlier.

"So, Ria…" He spoke up after another short pause, contemplating his next question. "What are you doing here?" 

The bag let out the tiniest crinkle as Ria's body tensed. Her heart hadn't calmed down since the moment she'd been captured, but this question made it beat even faster (although she didn't think that was possible). It was one that she had to answer carefully, lest she fall victim to a sudden, intense reaction from the human. Derek may seem calm, but she's heard him lose it on others on more than one occasion, and she doubted she could survive receiving that end of the stick.

"I…. I was just hungry," Her shaky voice spoke up, aware that it wasn't the best or most direct response. They both knew there was usually other food left around the house that was often more filling than the measly crumbs she'd find in the bag, so her voice rose once more to cover her tracks. "And I like chips." 

Derek chuckled again, huffing air out his nose as his smile grew wider. "Anyone who likes chips is automatically cool in my books. Especially that kind." Finally he'd met someone else who would even go near the bag; he could shove it in his sister's face that he wasn't a freak for having weird tastes now that he knew someone else liked them, but that train of thought quickly derailed. Could he even tell anybody about this? About her? He could probably try, but there'd be no way anyone would believe him without evidence, and he held himself above capturing and holding a sentient being hostage.

No, this would have to be his little secret. At least for now. Only he could know about this little person he found in the night, even if he only knew her name and why she was here. But it wasn't enough to fully satisfy his curiosity, and he found himself speaking up once more to rid the two of the silence.

"Still, that's not really what I was wondering.. I guess a better way to phrase it would be 'how did you get here' as in, what are you doing in my home?" 

At that question Ria's stomach dropped. She couldn't answer that, not without giving up a huge part of her species' identity. She couldn't just flat out admit that she stayed in the walls and spied on his family and took their things when they weren't looking-- that would surely elicit a bad response, and her already trembling limbs could not handle that aftermath. 

But… he'd told her the conditions of the deal were that she could answer whatever she was comfortable with. She wondered if he would keep his word and really take 'no' or a vague reply for an answer, deciding to try her luck with the latter.

"I…... live here.."

"Wait, what?" Came Derek's confused reply. He's lived in this house for two years now, and was just starting to piece things together. Maybe all those weird bumps and scrapes he heard in the night weren't just ghosts or little animals or whatever nonsense his brain could come up with to justify them. No, it was something equally as implausible, a fourth person living amongst him and his family without him knowing.

"Where?" He blurted out, before realizing that he should probably provide context to his rapidly spiraling thoughts. "I mean, it's not like there's a fourth bedroom, and I don't think you could open the front door, and I haven't seen any holes in the walls.." He trailed off, his mind continuing to race.

There was another long pause in the air before Ria spoke up, the fear painfully apparent in her voice. "I don't want to answer that…" She preemptively braced herself for Derek to get mad, to pry the words out of her to sate his burning curiosity, but she received nothing in response but a small humm.

"Sorry," he apologized, not meaning to make her uncomfortable. "I guess I wouldn't want to tell a stranger exactly where I live either. I won't pry." 

".... Thanks." The soft word surprised the both of them, but especially Ria. She never thought she'd be thanking a human of all things, but.. Derek had been respectful of her and her wishes so far. A part of her figured it was only fair to return the politeness.

Derek hummed again in agreement before coming to a realization, a deep grin spreading from cheek to cheek. 

"Soo… does this make me like your landlord or something? You gonna start paying me rent or..?" He joked, a laugh bubbling from deep in his chest. 

At the lack of a response, and the other realization that this tiny being might not know how human housing systems work, he quickly dropped an "I'm kidding, of course." 

He paused for a moment, considering something, before piping up once more. 

"Well Ria, do you have any questions for me?" He asked, genuinely wondering.  It didn't seem like the girl wanted to initiate any sort of conversation with him, or say more than she had to, but this had to be a new situation for them both, she had to have some sort of curiousness, right?

Ria paled. Were his questions over? Did that mean she was free to go? Would he even let her? She'd be lying if she said there wasn't a single loud question burning a hole into the back of her mind. It escaped before she could stop it, voice shaky as ever.

"W-What do you plan on doing to me? When you're done your questions?" 

The accusatory tone the words held almost would have offended Derek if not for their extreme power difference. He wasn't the type of person to even hurt a fly, always the one to cup the spiders and bring them back outside, but he could see how almost any action he made could seem life-threatening to someone not even the size of his hand.

"Nothing," He said quickly, although probably a little too fast for it to sound reassuring and not like a lie. His mouth immediately opened again to fill in his mistake. "Swear on my life, I won't do anything to you. I really did just wanna know those things. But if I'm making you that uncomfortable I can leave." 

He really, really didn't want to leave her, but he didn't want to make things worse either. If she really did live here, he'd rather not have an invisible pissed-off roommate hiding around. She seemed genuinely afraid, and Derek now knew that he was the source of that fear. Nothing he could say or do would make it better, except removing himself from the situation. An unideal ending to their brief encounter, but if he gained even a tiny fraction of her trust then there was the possibility of them seeing each other again.

He clung to that hope, as Ria's voice broke the silence.

"Y-yes please.." She couldn't believe what the human was offering, and desperately hoped that he would leave or even turn around so she could make a break for it. She knew there was an entrance to the walls just behind the fridge- If she could just make it to the edge of the counter and rappel down, she'd be home free.

Derek let out a long sigh, letting out a small "Okay," at the end. "Well, thanks for your time. Sorry about this whole.. bag mishap." He turned around, facing back to the living room, before calling out over his shoulder.

"Don't forget to take your chips!" he smiled once more. "And, if you ever want to talk again, you know where to find me." 

And with that Derek left to flop back onto the couch, smiling to himself as he heard the familiar crinkle of the plastic bag after a minute of wary silence. 

Ria gathered up her snacks, unable to stop her mind from racing as she cautiously left the bag and grappled down the side of the counter. Her thoughts were both a mix of good and bad, but if there was one constant between them, it was the feeling of relief that washed over her entire being. She was fine, she'd made it out alive, and had one of the most interesting conversations of her life with the invitation to do it again.

An invitation she couldn't see herself turning down.