#fluffober

It wasn’t anything new. It wasn’t surprising when Tim left for weeks on end with little to no contact with you. He had his own thing going on that you weren’t allowed in on. Even if you were his partner, he said it was for safety reasons, so you didn’t push on. You’ve always known Tim had a problem, but you didn’t mind. You just wanted to help, and if that meant giving him space for weeks, so be it. But, it didn’t mean your mind didn’t wander and worry about him. The way an intrusive thought would make its way into your mind about him made your stomach churn.

But last night was different. So much different. Tim had made his way back late in the night. He looked different. He had a mask on. That was the most uncanny thing. The way its white blankness had been painted with black feminine features. The way his clothes had been covered in blood, the way the blood was not his own. The way he didn’t speak a word last night had you on the verge. His tan jacket had been stained with muck and filth from a variety of things. You had to wash it at least four times to clear it. It was a cold night, emotionally and physically. You ignored your own needs that night for him. He may not have spoken, but his glassy eyes were on you the entire time, and you could tell. After what seemed like hours, he exhaled heavily before he brought you in for a quiet hug. You returned it with ease. He cried that night, and you hadn’t a clue why. He was so stressed and you didn’t know why. And you knew he wouldn’t tell you, so you tried your best with what you had. The night ended with the two of you going to bed.

It was the next day, in the morning. It was early as you had your back pressed against his chest. He had a sloppy hold which he quickly tightened on you. As if he didn’t want to let go. Like the wind would take you if he didn’t anchor you down. You both shared warmth, shielding you and him from the freezing room. He yawned as he slowly took himself away from you. The sudden cold and the removal of warmth woke you up. You could hear someone shuffling in the room as you slowly blinked open your eyes. You lazily lie there for a good minute or so. Not wanting to ruin the cloud-like feeling the bed had on you, but just wanting to know where Tim had run off to now. You pushed yourself up now, fully realizing the lack of Tim.

You huffed as you rubbed your eyes. You let out soft yawns as you sat on the bed. You were exhausted and you knew Tim should be too. That’s when you scooted yourself off of the plush blankets and onto the cold wooden flooring. Your fatigue was clear in the way you moved. You took yourself from point A to point B as you pressed your hand against the cold metal doorknob. You turned it over with ease. Your eyes were met with some lights turned on within the cozy home. You slowly made your way into the kitchen, where you could smell strong amounts of coffee in the air. The scent was a pleasant smell that invaded your senses. There was an apparent aroma around the house. You could feel the shift in weight as you put one foot in front of the other. That's when you saw Tim sitting on your shared couch. He had a hot mug of coffee in hand. You could see the steam making its way from the liquid to his face. The liquid was black. Of course, he drank it black. You slowly sat next to him. He seemed surprised by you. He smelled of cigarettes. How long did you lie there for?

You had the urge and right to bring up what happened last night. But now you just feel relieved and enchanted by him. You didn’t feel the need to curse him out or do anything negative. It was a whole thing but, after having gone weeks without him. You might as well enjoy it. "What time is it?" you groaned as you yawned again. Tim inhaled before responding "It’s four o'clock in the morning." he looked at your stance next to him. "Huh?" you looked at him like he was mental. No way, this man woke both of you up at four a.m. Unless. "Are you a morning person?" you muttered quickly as you stared daggers at him. He smiled lightly at your antics, "yeah?" he added, before taking another sip. "Oh no, you're a morning person," you said, then soon realized who your partner was. And that was a criminal, and his crime was waking up at four in the morning on a Saturday. You pretended to be disappointed. You soon shook your head no, "I can't believe it." He could tell you were just joking around with him.

"There's nothing wrong with waking up at three on a Saturday," Tim added, whilst smiling. You liked his smile. It was pretty to you because it warmed something in you. It made you feel safe and secure. "No, anything but that," you say, burying your face in your hands. "He doesn’t even realize the sins he’s just committed." you glanced at him in disbelief, then back to the ground. He took another sip of his coffee before placing it down.

He coughed into his sleeve. He coughed a lot. There was a lot he didn’t tell you, but yet again you didn’t ask. He recovered before looking at you again. "So, what happened last night?" you asked. You said something risky, but you deserved to know after cleaning him up. He was quiet for a moment before looking at you and responding with "Me and a few friends ran into trouble," he explained loosely. "The friends being Brian, Toby, and Kate, like normal." Tim fidgeted with his hands as the words came out.

You’d seen Brian a few times around the house when Tim was around. You knew a lot about Brian, at least from the stuff Tim shared with you. Those two had been friends for years and years, dating back longer than you and Tim’s relationship. You heard of Toby and Kate. More of Toby though. From what you heard, he did a lot of stupid shit. You hadn’t met them in person yet, though you wanted to.

"Our boss made us go on a mission again.' 'However, this one was much worse, much worse." he cringed whilst talking about it. He continued to think carefully before he spoke. His job was a whole different thing. You hadn’t a clue what it was, but you guessed something to do with delivery. Maybe he got stuck in traffic for hours or had a thunderstorm hit him. You looked at his face. He looked shaken up and uncomfortable talking about it. "Did you guys get jumped?" your words came out quietly, but there. "On the lines of that, yeah," he muttered as he pushed his thoughts away as Tim reached for his cup. That could explain all the marks on his arms and face from last night and the way he had that wretched crimson liquid all over him. You glanced at his face again, worried you’d see the blood again.

You scooted closer to Tim. He was uncomfortable with that subject, so you decided to change it. Which he noticed and accepted voluntarily. He removed one hand from his mug and moved it to you. He held your hand. You soon leaned against him. It was a comfortable silence. You could feel his loving gaze glance at you in curiosity. "I can’t believe I'm dating a morning person," you muttered as his hold on you increased. "I’m sure there are worse things than dating a morning person," he chuckled, as you squinted your eyes at him. You were tired from last night. Couldn’t you just drag him back to bed? It felt like a foolproof plan on your end. There was no reason why not. You faked a yawn, which he noticed. "Woah man, I'm tired.' ' We should head back to bed." you gave him the hint in the most obvious way.

He let go of your hand slowly. You could still feel his touch nonetheless. He sat there for a moment before exhaling. "You can go back to bed if you want," he said, knowing you wanted him there as well. You had a feeling he may have had a nightmare and just didn’t want to tell you about it. He had a habit of having to go through that, which probably led him to be a morning person. You recall him a few times, accidentally waking you up with his sudden, harsh, and desperate grip on you. The way he’d be out of breath and the way he got as close as possible to you as he could. The words he said during those times are things you will never forget. You’d always comfort him afterward, which he acted like he didn’t need. But, you could always tell he was highly grateful for it. He always seemed like a lost puppy until you grounded him.

You slowly put all of your weight on him and then started to fake snooze. He knew what you were doing and had no intention of fighting back. "You’ve been gone for weeks’ ‘What’s wrong with wanting to snuggle a little bit?" you slowly opened your eyes. He put down his mug as he placed his head against the top of yours. "You are persistent, you know that?" he mumbled as he took his weight off you, and you did the same.

He got up from the couch before, scooping you into his arms. He cradled you with ease. He made it seem like he carried people all the time. And you hadn’t a clue where he got his unhuman-like strength, but you didn’t mind because it came in handy plenty of times. For example, right now you weren’t lying when you said you were tired. You were exhausted from the stress and panic you had last night about him. You tucked your face into his chest. He smelt of a deep, rich coffee, with his clear smoking addiction coming through his jacket. You could tell he smoked a lot, but he had the respect not to smoke around you unless you asked him to. There were times you wondered if he ever took showers when he was out because the way he came home was always terrible. Sometimes you worry if he even takes care of himself out there.

But, here he was still standing strong. "I love you, Reader," he smiled softly. "Love you, too, Tim." he probably thought you couldn’t hear him, but you did. He seemed pleasantly surprised by this and didn’t mind. He brought you back to your shared bedroom and then, soon, gently placed you back on your respective side of the bed. You could feel your body sink into the soft mattress as he took off his jacket. You looked at the roof of your shared room. You’ve started at it plenty of times before, aimlessly. You remember trying to estimate the time it’d take for him to get back and counting down from there. Your guesses were always wrong, though. He went to his side of the bed, making sure not to rock the bed too much.

You heard him exhale deeply as he laid down with you. He pulled the covers over both of you before, pulling you against him. He had his head on your shoulder as he held you tightly. You were enveloped in his scent as well as his warmth as he spooned you. You could feel your drowsiness come back as he yawned. It seemed caffeine didn’t affect this man, or he just needed more than twenty cups of it to work.

"Do you hate the morning that much?" he smiled on your shoulder as you didn’t make any effort to hold yourself up. "Yep, and if my partner is a morning person, it is my duty to save them." you could feel him exhale quickly. "Thank you for your service," he said weakly as he saluted you. Cuddling with him was always the best. Maybe it was the way he talked or maybe just the way he held you. He reached a hand up to your face before gently rubbing your cheek meaninglessly. Both of you were under a soft, warm embrace, and neither of you wanted to let go of the comfort you two created. You could feel yourself slowly going adrift. Your eyes grew heavy as you could feel yourself starting to fall asleep. Tim embraced you softly as you fell asleep against him. And it wouldn’t be long before, he went back to bed with you. Nothing could be better than this. Well, maybe Tim not being a morning person would be it.

Headcanon Section

-When Toby sees you grab a tiny crystal from outside the cabin and go back inside. And you put it in a cardboard box that is already filled with a lot of sparkling things. He realizes that you have a genuine tendency of collecting these trinkets.

-” What are you doing Reader?” -” I’m adding something to my collection of shiny things.”

-He decides to help your shiny problem after noticing your smile. Because it warms his heart to see your smile. He can’t pinpoint why and doesn’t want to know why.

-One day Toby came back with a tin can and wasn’t expecting you to like it all that much but, he was wrong.

-"I brought you something shiny." he handed you a tin can with a dent in it. It was extremely shiny, which made you smile. "I shouldn’t have known it wouldn’t work." he frowned as he seemed to be in a very vulnerable state.

- "How would that even work?’ ‘It works well its very shiny’ ‘Thank you so much Toby" you smiled and went into detail about how much you loved it. Then you brought him in for a hug, which he quickly returned. That was the first time he brought something and you loved it. That’s when his habit of bringing you something shiny started.

-Every time he goes out on a mission, he always makes sure to come home with at least one shiny thing, no matter if it's a tin can or a literal diamond.

-He doesn’t get it or understand the value of certain shiny things over other shiny things. But, he knows he just wants to see you happy. If shiny things make you happy, then he’ll get them for you, no questions asked.

-He finds himself interested and happy whenever he supports your little hobby, knowing he's your number one source of shiny things.

-Toby enjoys listening to your rants on what kinds of shiny things he brings back or you’ve already found. He likes picking up little things about you. Whether it’s you preferring one shiny thing over another or you telling him what he found.

-This becomes a comfort for him and you. He finds himself disappointed when he can’t manage to find anything, so just tell him it’s alright and he’ll be back as new.

One-Shot Section

You had been sitting on your shared bed as you had your box next to your feet. The box featured a wide variety of shiny objects that you and Toby had accumulated over the months. And you've been polishing them back into shape today. You were doing this due to the rust or the muck that had stained your collection.

You had a towel that you aggressively wiped against a tin can you had in your collection. As the dirt and grime eventually came off after some labor. You enjoy looking at your shiny objects because they tend to bring you a sense of serotonin anytime you look at them. They also happen to be one of your hobbies.

Which your partner, Toby, heavily supported. He never did completely grasp the concept, but he knew it made you happy and that was more than enough for him. You sighed as you had finally sorted and cleaned your stuff as you pushed the box back under the bed.

It’d been at least three days since Toby had been home. Which wasn’t irregular but still gave you the ick. You didn’t like it when we went on his longer missions, but you knew him on these typical days. He’d be clingy when he got home. Though you didn’t mind and wished he’d already be back.

That’s when you heard a couple of non-rhythmic knocks on the door. The knocks were loud and firm but slowly weakening. As you got up on your feet, you traversed the house, making your way to the wooden door. You slowly and cautiously opened the door, pretty sure who was on the other side. And good for you, it was indeed Toby.

He had strokes of mud all over him, along with bloodied clothes. He looked like he’d just gotten pushed off a truck in the middle of a thunderstorm. Which honestly wouldn’t be the most surprising thing he’s ever told you. He pushed the door wide open upon seeing you. He had a smile on his face, which you returned. He opened his arms, expecting a hug.

You wanted to return it, but you didn’t want to be smothered in mud. He dropped his hug and stared at you. "What happened out there?" you asked. "You're covered in mud," you said with a smile, keeping the mood light while letting him know. It seemed to surprise him. He quickly looked at himself and realized he was indeed covered in mud. "I’ll go take a shower after I expect my hug." he pretended to be grumpy as he made his way into the house with ease. He placed an undersized rock on the table before he beelined it to the bathroom.

He was eager to be back, and you were happy he was back as well. Though a shred of curiosity was burning in you. What was that mud-covered thing he brought back? It could be a rock or a piece of metal, and you had to know. Should you wait? I mean, you could, but still. It wouldn’t hurt as you picked up the mud-covered stone. Whatever it was, it was smaller than your palm. You moved to the kitchen with curiosity. You turned on your sink as you let the water run over the rock. The mud slowly found its way off of the rock as you heard footsteps making their way toward you.

"Woah, that shower was fast." you speculated, but you knew he was tired. He probably hadn’t slept since he left. He wrapped his arms around you as you turned off the sink. He was wearing an off-green sweater with some gray sweats. He was about to drag you to bed. As you wiped the remaining muck off of the thing with the bottom of your shirt. Though he was latched onto you. You looked at the thing he brought you.

The mud revealed a diamond ring. "Do you like it?" he muttered whilst having his face smothered on your shoulder. You weren’t going to question where he got it, but man, it was pretty. "I love it." you smiled at him with a glint in your eyes as he weakly smiled, taking you all in. He was a diamond in the rough. Your diamond in the rough, to be exact.

You and Helen have always been pretty close. This may have been because you two were friends even before everything went to shit. But throughout the years, Helen had stopped talking completely. You still told him everything. Things like how you caused absolute chaos throughout the forest. You always told him every detail. Even if it felt like he wasn’t there, you liked to think he was. Helen was always painting, deep in an art-like space. A trance that he didn’t let be broken. Though it didn’t matter to you. You were going to rant whether he cared or not because he was all that remained of the good old days.

Right now you're running. You are running from yet another fuckup you caused on purpose. Another story to laugh about. Your shoes left heavy footprints in the mud as you ran a marathon away from Jeff. You could feel a smile creeping up on your face as you tried to make as much space between him and you as possible. This had to be the stupidest thing you’ve ever done, and that’s saying a lot. You felt bullets of sweat run down your face as you heard cursing from behind. The fact that you were sweaty was the least of your worries. Maybe the fact that you pissed off the most notorious serial killer was one. You put a tracker on this man and gave the GPS tracker to Nina. It's probably one of the evilest things you've ever done. Of course, because Jeff was so stupid, he couldn’t figure out where the tracker was or even the concept of one. But he knew one thing. And that thing was that it was your fault. And he would stop at no cost to get his revenge. You forced the two of you to sprint ruthlessly through zigzags of trees. You could feel your adrenaline running low and your fatigue rising. You muttered under your breath, "Shit," as you rested your hands on your knees. You broke into a sprint as you heard him again.

You caused the air to turn into a cold breeze as you rushed to the one spot you knew was around here. Which was a small flat opening between the trees. And you knew Helen was probably painting there like he always was. Helen did happen to be associated with Slenderman, and you weren’t. So maybe Helen could get you out of this one. I mean, at least you could distract Jeff. As your clothes were lightly torn by the ruff bushes. You saw a man sitting on a stool. With short jet black hair and a dark blue jacket. You rushed up to him as he painted. He seemed to know you were there as you desperately tried to get his attention. To which he responded with a sigh. "Helen, I fucking pissed off Jeff’ ‘He’s gonna fuck me up" you pleaded to the man who voluntarily chose not to speak. You could feel his stare burn into you.

As you heard, the quick-paced rustling increased. A short, pale man with a blood-stained hoodie fell out of the bush as he quickly regained his posture. "You fucks.’ ‘Which one of you got Nina on me?’ ‘what fucking witchcraft-" Jeff pointed his kitchen knife aimlessly at the both of you. Almost trying to figure out how he was going to get to you. "I didn’t do anything she probably can just sniff your grease out." you fought back. "Oh, fuck you." he became more serious than was even possible for his unstable self. "Well, one of you has to pay for the shit you pulled." he seemed to not even be sure who was who anymore. Helen placed his paintbrush down into a small cup that sat by his feet.

"Woah, tough guy here." Jeff didn’t seem phased, but, to you, it was pretty surprising that Helen reacted. Normally, he just sat there any other time. Was he interested in what was going on or just tired of it? He got up from his stool as he stood tall. He wasn’t much taller than any of the other creeps who roamed the forest. But, still noticeably taller, standing at around six feet. "I’m not sure what happened, but that was not my intention.’ ‘Nina simply requested a tracker to keep you safe.’ ‘And I apologize for any inconveniences." Helen spoke quietly enough for you to hear him. It was unusual how normal he spoke. "Well you fucked me over and she won't leave me alone with this thing," Jeff complained, but you could sense a shred of surprise in his tone. Jeff tossed a small oval-shaped piece of plastic that had a tiny green LED on the inside. Helen took a step forward, crushing it under his weight. As he crushed it, you swore you could hear a sharp feminine cry come from somewhere. "Oh," Jeff looked at the device, stopping any efforts and very awkwardly turning around. He walked back into the forest, muttering cuss words and phrases to demean the both of you.

"Holy shit’ ‘You actually did it" you were so confused. Maybe it was the fact that Helen got Jeff off of you, or maybe the fact that he spoke. Helen sighed heavily as he went back to his stool. You smiled softly as you sat on the ground next to him. You began telling the story over again about Jeff making plenty of proud notes about Helen. He had begun to paint again, and you had a smile on your face. Smiling because he heard you. Because you hadn't been talking to a brick wall for all these years. And Helen seemed to not want to let you see his newest painting. You should piss off Jeff more.

FLASHBACK

You could hear your parents' or guardians' talking irrationally to one another as you stepped away from them, turning your back. You had just finished an interrogation with a police officer and an interview with a nicely dressed woman who you had guessed was a news reporter. At least that's what you remembered. All your thoughts were fuzzy at the moment as you tried to piece them back together. You then slowly made your way to the carpeted staircase as your caretaker's voices slowly fade away. Though you tried to listen in as much as you could as you departed. So much had just happened within a timeframe of hours.

You had people storm your house, either in a riot or for want of fame. And it was all because you had been close friends with Liu Woods. The boy was also directly related to Jeffery Woods. The government promised to keep your information under wraps originally. That was until the second killing. The second murder was committed by your dear friend Liu Woods. Then, they couldn't retain it anymore. Or maybe they just didn't want to anymore. It's just too much work for them now. Too much effort.

They didn’t tell you much about what happened because your parents or guardians hadn’t let them. However, that didn't stop social media or the radio. They told you in a cheery voice with little to no empathy in their tone about the murders that took place. You knew that Jeff had gone rogue and killed his mother and father with no clear motive. Then, he proceeded to attempt to murder Liu along with them. The police didn’t tell you that, nor did your caretakers. You found out on your own and had Liu clarify it for you.

You remember sitting by Liu’s hospital bed, anxiously waiting for him to wake up and tell you that everyone was making it up. But that never came. The only thing that arrived was the truth that Liu made you see. And after that, you visited every single day after school to check up on him. Which your caretakers didn't want or approve of, but when did you listen to them? He always seemed so grateful when you walked into his room. On the first day he woke up, he talked about that night in such clear and vile detail. And the worst part was that he made you listen to it. He made you share his trauma and you couldn't do anything but be a good friend. But then every day forward he wouldn’t mention it. It was as if he had just moved on, but it was probably a PTSD thing. Or maybe he saw how uncomfortable you were the day before and chose not to talk about the subject any longer.

You remember that he didn’t like his nurse because she talked badly about his brother and how much of a bitch he was. You remember the stupid idle chat you two had, whether it was gossiping about the nurse or how both of your days went. And how you'd unzip your backpack to show how much candy you snuck in for him. And now you're here on this old staircase thinking about if he murdered someone and not about what type of candy you were going to buy him. Now on this old staircase having no closure. Having no one to tell you what happened. Having no way to know if he was alright. And it left your mind restless. You came up with the worst theory. That Liu went through with it. He went through with killing the nurse and going down with his brother. You just had a gut feeling Liu had butchered that poor lady, and you could have warned her. But, you didn't because you feared that they would take Liu away. Such a childish and selfish reason. Or maybe that bad feeling was that Jeff came back and finished the job. But, that felt worse somehow. You knew the thoughts coming in and out of your mind weren’t right. Maybe it was due to the exposure or maybe it was due to losing your friend. All you knew was the fact that you’d probably never see Liu again. And maybe that was for the better.

You knew you were going to miss your friend though. Perhaps because he was your only friend in middle school. And that those bullies would come back with more nicknames than before. Calling you a murderer or an accomplice to one. Or maybe they would stop and fear you. You were so confused and angry at everyone. It wasn’t your fault that this happened. No matter what anyone says, you didn’t influence him to do this. Jeff did. You blamed him the most. But, you couldn’t hold that grudge because Liu said not to. But Liu was always a little off, especially the more you came around, occasionally saying his name was "Sully." But, the moment you call him that, Liu will correct you. It was confusing. But, you were sure it was just as confusing for Liu as it was for you.

You remember finally getting up those stairs with tears making your eyes turn glassy. You wanted to pass out and just sleep it off. Let everything resolve itself rather than try and fix it. As you entered your room, a familiar face with visible scars caught your attention. It was Liu. He was in your room with the window wide open. You remember him talking to you frantically but still managing to keep it together. He persuaded you to leave, and you did. He was your only friend and the only thing that made sense to your middle-school brain at the time. So, you put a few belongings into your old backpack from school and disappeared discreetly from your residence. You were going to help him find Jeff and get out of this together. You wouldn't have to suffer and go through it if you just ran for it. So you left, with only the moon and Liu to guide you through the dark forest.

END OF FLASHBACK

And that’s still where you are today. In a forest with the infamous Liu Woods, still having the moon guide you with every step at twenty-one. You hadn’t left his side after that. And it was still surreal to see him and his brother's stories in every newspaper with your name laced in there a couple of times. People believed Liu came back and murdered you, while others thought you ran after Liu and slaughtered him. They were always missing something in their little stories, though. Whether it was you being alive or Liu still caring about his younger brother. There were even a few documentaries on the Woods family, which was pretty fucked up, but you couldn't just come back and complain. So, presently, you are still here with Liu after all these years. You still trust him to this day. He was the only thing you truly bonded with and cared for. You, Liu, and his alter, Sully, had all become a team. And your team’s only goal was to track down Jeff. Liu desperately wanted to unite with his brother once again. While Sully, on the other hand, didn’t want to see Jeff ever again.

That’s what brought you two into another forest. Because Liu got some leads about him being in this area and not to mention he had already run off looking for Jeff. But, you were tasked with making a camp-like fort for the next two weeks. Which was rare because you three never stayed in one place for very long. You guys always had to skip town when Jeff got back on the news or Liu’s tracking skills caught onto Jeff. But, you weren't even going to lie to yourself; getting to stay in one spot for a while is a dream come true. Maybe nature's flooring wouldn't be the best for your back, but you'd rather have back pain than leg pain.

A week ago, you managed to convince Liu to let you stay in the same place for two whole weeks. Sully took your side instantly, whilst Liu was more hesitant to do so. He wanted to carry on traveling, but he was conscious of the fact that you would continue to pry about it at every stop. And to him, this forest was good enough due to the high sightings of Jeff. So, he finally allowed you to have what you wanted. He allowed you to win because it played in his favor. Liu identified Jeff's location around or near this area within a week of hearing stories of the two families who mysteriously vanished with little to no trace. You’ve never seen him so excited and you’ve never seen Sully so scared.

Sully was Liu's alter and he was only thirteen years old, and he would stay that way until Liu died. Your heart went out to Sully because he was a child going through all this. But, you never said anything since he had violent anger issues and would probably hate you more. Sully and your relationship wasn’t the best, but you’ve seen Sully hate others worse. And he only hated you because he felt you influenced and helped Liu track down Jeff. Which he wasn’t all wrong about.

You could have definitely done something over the years, maybe to change him. But, you didn’t want to. You weren’t a leader; you were a follower. And you would follow Liu to the ends of the earth. Because he was all you had left. At least that’s what he told you, and on those days Sully never spoke. You knew he was playing you like a record, but you couldn't bring yourself to care. Of course, there were going to be some messed-up aspects to your friendship after everything you two had been through. But, you always knew that, at the end of the day, it was you and him against the world. Because, whether he wanted to accept it or not, he would’ve died without you. On those nights when you had to support him because he got too close to the sun and got hurt. The sun, in this case, is Jeff. He had no remorse for Liu, and he constantly made it clear through his violent behavior. And if you brought it up with Liu, he'd kill you.

You remember the night and the first time he found him. Liu didn’t want you to go with him, believing you’d mess up something. So he went alone. And when he didn’t come back for five hours, you went out for him. You remember all the gory details. He was lying on the ground with a deep crimson cut on his chest, bleeding through his shirt, and had a broken arm that was barely hanging on. You could see his insides as well as his fractured bones. You cleaned and covered his wounds to the best of your ability. He didn’t speak a word that night. You assumed he was fighting with Sully, or maybe he was just trying to process the newfound trauma.

Now you're here, pillows and blankets in hand, to decorate your shared tent. You stole a few things from a corporate furnishing company down the street. You went against Liu a respectable amount by stealing, but you knew you could push it. So, you now had two pillows firmly tucked underneath your arm whilst you had a backpack full of random stuff slung over your shoulder. They were assorted items that looked interesting and were snatched up on the way out and thrown into your backpack with no thought. You moved slower than you should be due to the weight of your gear. You were in the thick of the forest. Every single turn felt so familiar, yet not at all. You could feel the wind’s, gentle breeze on you as you marched through the forest. The temperatures were freezing and only dropping. As you scouted for the obnoxious blue tarp of a tent, you set up a bit ago.

It didn’t take long to find your temporary home as you deeply inhaled the forest’s pine smell. You crouched down to the tent's level as you snuck into it. You laid out the four blankets, all having various designs, as you placed two pillows on each side of the tent. The tent may not have been too spacious, but it was enough. You reached into your backpack for the other items you’d gathered. You had one pack of fairy lights, one metal camp lantern, and a large candle. You aligned the fairy lights on the inside of the tent as you left your lantern right outside. You then placed the candle in a safe and secure spot, even going as far as to tape it down with duct tape. You used your old lighter to light the candle. The unmarked candle let off a sweet cinnamon roll-like smell, quickly scenting the tent with its pleasant smell.

You sat down to take a second to admire your hard work. From the pretty fairy lights that light up the tent and give it a warm, home-like feeling. To the candle, bringing the entire tent together. It looked and felt so cozy. You soon start hearing quiet footsteps outside the tent, followed by a loud sigh. The figure approached the tent as they crouched. You heard the zipper of the tent being opened. You could feel your posture stiffen. You trusted your gut. And you were right, it was Liu. He fit his slender frame into the tent with ease, as he looked confused, looking at each corner of the tent. He sighed once again, sitting down. He had his computer in hand.

"I take it that tracking down Jeff didn't go so well," you said, as he grumbled as his gaze shifted to you. "I suppose," he said as he sat on one of the fleece blankets you had stolen. He looked at everything, observing, even looking at you for a brief moment. "Looks like you’ve been having fun." He crisscrossed his legs as he pulled his computer onto his lap, inhaling the air. "What’s the next step?" you asked, tilting your head at him. You asked him questions you knew the answer to but he still answered, no matter how stupid the question was. He opened his dark silver laptop, which was older than he was, and began to type. "Track down Jeff like it always is," Liu explained, as you sat there staring at him.

"Do you ever take a break?" you genuinely questioned him as he looked up from his computer at you. He exhaled as he answered. "Not really, but it's going to come full circle eventually." You could tell from his voice he hasn't lost an ounce of determination from the time he escaped to now. You were both excited and put off by it. You grabbed your old raggedy backpack and looked inside for the thing you'd been saving. You grabbed two cans of soda as you tapped his leg with the sole of your shoe. He sighed and turned to look up once more. His serious gaze turned soft for a moment as he watched you, jester, a can of soda his way. You didn’t resist as he took the can from you. And with one hand on his computer and the other on the soda can. He managed to open the can with one hand, which surprised you. And your face displayed your newfound shock. And you knew if you tried to do that you’d fail miserably, so you used both of your hands to open it. While you stared at his skills in envy.

You put your open soda can towards him. Which he squinted at you for. He finally understood what you were talking about after you motioned for him to clink it. "To a temporary home and too soon finally finding Jeff," you said as he tapped his drink gently against yours. He agreed with that, smiling. He took a sip, as you did the same. You watch his dark green eyes, which could be compared to the color of the trees outside, dart back to his screen. His dark chestnut hair covered the majority of his freckled face. You soon gazed at his stitched scars, and you became curious. The doctors never had the chance to remove the stitches, which left them in his cheeks. The stitching resembled little x's, which was a daily reminder of why you two were here. They decorated his cheeks and most of his face, with the occasional one on his arms and neck. He covered himself well, though. Especially with his dark striped sage scarf that was much larger than it should've been. He’s worn it for a while. You gave him that scarf for his birthday. The first birthday away from home.

"What do you think of the fort?" you asked him as you began to get into more of a comfortable position. "Well, it’s pretty…’ ‘adaptable, I like that." he paused between words to look around. "The candle, however, is a fire hazard," he noticed your displeased frown because that was the only thing you weren't willing to mention. He smiled due to your annoyance. He slowly stopped taking another sip to focus on his laptop. "I heard about what you did from the people complaining about you in the coffee shop. You made a scene." he didn’t seem all that impressed with your antics though, he didn't seem all that mad.

"And I’m trying to ignore it so we don’t leave earlier than I promised." he glanced at you from the corner of his eye, trying to spot your reaction. You sighed heavily. You knew eventually he’d pull something just not this early. You could feel disappointment rising. "I'm determined to keep my promise," he said, clicking something on his computer. You smiled in response. You knew he was direct and if he wanted out, he would tell you straight. He wouldn't hesitate to pick you up, throw you over his shoulder, and leave.  He was going to keep his promise.

You scooted your way toward him after you put down your drink. You tried being sneaky. He didn’t seem to notice originally when you scooted toward him. But as you rested your head against his shoulder he did react with a flinch. You were drowsy from all that running away from the cops then, and the walking. Who could blame you for wanting to rest on a portable heater? He stopped typing as you got cozy, directly pushing the back of your head into his soft scarf. "If you were tired, you could've told me," he sighed, shifting into a better position for the both of you. He lightly pulled you down onto his thigh so you could rest easily. You fully lay down, using his leg as a pillow. You took full advantage of this grand opportunity as he didn't fight back. He went back to typing as you exhaled.

"You're soft, you know that?" you didn’t even notice the words slipping out of your mouth, but when you did, you felt heat rise in your cheeks. You always have had your impulsive thoughts win when you were sleepy. You just couldn't fight back the fatigue well. "You're full of surprises," he said, slightly shaking his head. "Get some rest, Reader." he didn’t mind this as he still tried to track down Jeff even at this moment. You closed your eyes as you started to completely relax. Even with everything, you still managed to get comfortable. Even if the hard dirt floor was only under your tent and some blankets.

You felt something suddenly get pulled over you due to the warmth. You blinked your eyes open slightly. Liu had pulled a blanket over you like the gentleman he was. He then soon rested his hand on your head, running his hand through your hair.  In a way, petting you to sleep. His gentle touch was more than enough to coax you to sleep. You drifted to sleep as you heard him lightly type away. This was your life now and you let it happen because he was the moonlight that lit the way in every step.

You had been cuddled against Brian’s side as you both went on a movie marathon. It’d been a few hours since it started, and you two had no plans to quit. Both of you were extremely comfortable, and you were determined to finish the last few movies in the queue. The TV screen was the only thing that emitted light in your shared house. As its lights rapidly change color every so often, they constantly flicker whenever something intriguing happens. They made your eyes hurt, but you couldn't manage to focus your gaze anywhere else. Okay, maybe your eyes darted between the screen and Brian a few times, but other than that, you were glued to the screen.

You could occasionally feel Brian’s grip on you tighten whenever a more gruesome scene took place. Brian ensured you that he was there for comfort if you needed a second from the screen. He always felt you had a weak stomach. Which was/wasn't true, but either way, he protected you. Like now, he had his arm behind your back with his hand lazily resting on your waist, ready to pull you in whenever he felt it was right. You tried to ignore him to focus more on the movie, but your partner always found a way to distract you from the blaring screen. Not that you minded. You liked having to hear his commentary or answer a random question he asked you about. You enjoyed watching these movies for hours, especially with your boyfriend. And currently, you two are watching the first Scream movie. You both picked at the clichés that were intentionally sprinkled throughout the movie. Even if it was a horror movie, you both still found a comedy angle in it thanks to Brian.

"I don’t get why you like this movie so much." Brian shifted comfortably, making sure he wouldn't mess with you too much. "Because it's a slasher classic, "you squinted at him for even attempting to attack any of the slasher movies. He looked down at you, having the corners of his mouth twitch into an unwanted smile. He sighed as he sat patiently waiting for the climax of the movie to arrive. You both already knew the ending and how the story would progress. But, it didn’t stop you from enjoying the film. "And now,'' She's dead," you called it out, as one of the murderers killed one of the characters. Her scream was fake as she flopped to the ground, staining her clothes in an unnaturally bright red. Brian sighed as he listened to you go on with your slasher theories and callouts. He really liked hearing what you had to say about the movies. It's probably why he loved watching them with you so much.

The show began to show its filler scenes, more commonly known as their duller and more boring scenes. You both became bored, and the boredom was making you both tired. And to distract you from that, Brian sent you on a side quest mid-movie. "Hey Reader, could you go make us some popcorn please?" He smiled at you as he loosened his grip, letting go completely. You looked away from the movie screen and at him. Your side felt weird as it had already gotten used to the sensation of his hand. You said, "Yeah, sure," as you scooted off the couch, leaving your warm spot vacant. You stood up and became dizzy from watching that screen all day. You walked your way cautiously through the dark house, patting down unfamiliar territory. As you finally made your way to the kitchen with some trial and error.

You switched on the kitchen lights desperately to see something clearly without having to solely rely on instinct. The kitchen lights lit the entire room with no warning, blaring into your eyes, which had gotten used to the dark. You blinked your eyes rapidly to adjust to the sudden light. You grudgingly forced yourself into the kitchen, going toward the cabinet you knew featured the popcorn you needed. You crouched next to a certain brown cabinet as you swung its door open slowly. You were met with various snacks and boxes. And with the plethora of snacks, you still managed to not need any of them. To find your popcorn box, you moved bags and boxes over to the side. The box had been stuck in the back of the cupboard. You jammed your hand inside the box, grabbing one of the many popcorn bags inside. You then used the counter above the cabinet to pull yourself up. You slowly looked around the kitchen for your shared microwave you bought a few weeks ago. You walked to the microwave, tearing open the plastic with your teeth to reach the brown bag inside. It left a buttery residue on your lips as you opened the microwave. The door sprung open as you tossed the brown bag inside. You shut the door while making sure there wasn't anything else inside. Afterward, you pressed some buttons on your microwave to ensure it would pop in less than four minutes.

When the bag began, you heard a loud and constant ringing come from the landline. You hadn’t used the landline much, only to schedule an appointment or two. Which was shown by the apparent dust gathering on it. But, here it was ringing loudly. You made your way urgently to the phone as you pulled it off of the receiver and placed the cold plastic against your ear. One of your hands cautiously gripped it as you spoke. "Hello?" you muttered to the phone as you still inventively watched the popcorn, which was still rapidly popping. "Hello," a deeper voice said on the other side of the line. "How are you?" the other voice asked you enthusiastically. "Who are you?-’ ‘Do you have the wrong number?"  you asked them assuming they may be calling the wrong person. They paused for a moment, either checking the number or thinking about what to say.  "Oh, sorry I do." the person responded, apologizing quickly. "It’s fine," you reassured the other person. "Bye," you said, returning the positive energy and hanging up the phone. You swore you could've heard them say something else, but it was too late anyway.

After you ended the call, you rushed to your popcorn, which had been popping for a little too long for your liking. As the microwave door sprung open again, steam rushed out of the microwave, relentlessly toasting your face. You then took it quickly out of the microwave, which resulted in a burn on the tip of your finger. "Fuck!" you cursed under your breath as you quickly dropped it onto the counter. You held your hand for a moment before the phone rang again. You aggressively picked it up and answered yet again. "Yes?" you came off a little ruder than you intended. It was just because, you were so annoyed by the little things that keep happening. "Hello," the same voice came back on the speaker. "Is this some sort of prank?" you almost hung up again, feeling a little bad for brushing them off so quickly. But, before you could abruptly hang up, they spoke again. "I just wanted to talk." their voice came off quickly, trying to keep your attention. You sighed heavily, really not wanting to deal with this. "You wanna play a game?’ ‘A game of trivia, unless you were thinking of something else?" their question was direct, yet still open-ended. "I’m really not in the mood right now." you pushed them away again, trying to be polite but letting them know you weren't feeling it.

"Are you with anyone?’ ‘or are you home alone?" they asked directly, completely ignoring your input. As you processed the question, you instantly got a negative vibe. Who was this person and why did they think they had the right to say something like that? The house and the room you were currently in felt wrong. The kitchen felt like it was closing in on you or the roof was going to cave in on you. You felt something in your gut to hang up and go back to Brian, but you didn’t. "Yeah-’ ‘’I'm with someone,' 'I'm not alone." you answered them, inhaling the air which now smelt of buttery popcorn. They didn't have the right or deserved to know, but you weren't going to say no. You didn't trust them, and you did it for your safety. "Is he near?" they were pushing it. You could immediately feel your face tense up. "Yes, he’s in the same room as me.' 'But, I never told you there was someone here." you caught them as you heard them chuckle lightly. "Are you two together?" they asked you another weird question that you didn't feel comfortable answering. "Look I don't know who you are, but these are weird questions to ask someone you don't know." you stood up for yourself. You could hear the heavy breathing on the line and it made you cringe. "Well?" they were persistent and wanted an answer. "We are now, are you done?' 'Please go find someone else to prank." you answered the original question, as you could hear them back from the phone. You should hang up. You really shouldn’t be playing into this person's antics.

"Aw, what a shame.’ ‘You look so nice today." you could feel the frown coming from their side. "What?’ ‘What-’ ‘I’m hanging up,'" you felt fear and adrenaline shoot into your system. How did this person know what you looked like. They pushed it before, but this was too far. The other person creeped you out so much. Why did this person even have a clue about what you looked like? And they were saying that as if they knew who you were. "Wait-’ ‘we still have a game to play-"  they spitted a word out but, you had no intention of doing this. "No, I’m hanging up.’ ‘Don’t call again or I’ll actually call the cops." your finger was right next to the end call before, they snapped out on you.

"Don’t hang up, Reader," they yelled at you firmly as you stopped all movement. How did they know your name? "W-what the fuck?!" you exclaimed. Why did they know your name and why were they doing this to you? Were they watching you right now? Did they have bad intentions for you? You could feel your heart being internally squeezed as your breath quickened. "Let's play a game," they said loudly from the other side. "A game of trivia," they laughed lightly, as you were still frozen up like a deer in headlights. "Why do you know my name?"  you muttered. "I don't think you're the one who's asking the questions." they reminded you who had the upper-hand. Everything going on felt exactly like the movie you were watching minutes before. "Okay, what do you want?" you caved, not knowing what else to do in the situation you were stuck in. "What's your favorite scary movie?" they asked you as you couldn’t manage to think clearly at the moment. They were threatening you moments ago. Why ask such a coy question now? " Uh, um, the one with Michael Myers ’ Halloween!" you managed to give the person an answer as you felt an ounce of tension drift away from you.

"Ooo, I love that! ", "Good choice.' ' Next question, did you lock the front door?" they praised you and then ruined it instantly. Anxiety spiked like never before as you looked around you, fearing to see someone other than, yourself. "Huh? 'What-'What are you talking about?’ ‘Of course it is!" you panicked, as you remembered Brian was the closest to the door. “Check that again, are you sure?” they repeated their previous line again making your stomach turn. “What do you mean-’ ‘It’s my house of course I know if it’s locked or not?’ ‘What are you talking about?” You wanted to hear an affirmation from them. But, the person on the other line hung up suddenly, leaving you with an open-ended question. You dropped the phone to the floor as you raced to the living room. As you got into the silhouette of the living room, you called out for Brian, but you got no response. You felt your soul shatter as you looked for anything of his. You then looked at the front door to see it wide open. You felt your heart drop as you slammed it shut from the whirling winds outside. You panted aggressively against the oak door. You needed to call the cops. But, you felt someone was behind you.

Two hands were soon slammed on either side of your head as you squirmed in your spot, hitting or kicking whatever you could. You saw the two black leather gloves that were keeping you in place while the intruder was pressing on your back. You hit them violently, but they didn’t let up. "What the fuck did you do to Brian?" you yelled angrily as you heard a faint giggle. "I'm right here!" the person behind you hugged you. But, they didn’t sound like Brian. He turned you around but, still pinning you against the door, he caged you within his arms. The man had a black ski mask on with a red frown imprinted on it. You could hear him panting just like he did on the phone.

"Voice changer," he smiled proudly as he pulled off his mask. Brian’s dirty blonde hair flopped onto his face as his hazel eyes glanced at you innocently. As if he hadn’t been missing for an hour. "Brian." you stared him down as he brought you in for a hug. "I was just testing you" he smirked into the crease of your neck. "I was legit about to call the cops," you said, still frozen in fear. "You bitch," you said as you kicked him in the balls to show him how much pain he had caused you. " Fuck-" he shifted uncomfortably, lessening his grip. Your kick had him gasping for air. But even with this attack, he managed to fully support your frame as he chuckled. "You think you’re so funny." you let him absolutely smother you in his touch. "I am," he said as he drew back, gently lowering you to the ground, even though you were only a few inches off the ground. "And your popcorn is now soggy and burnt," you told him as he laughed but gasped, pretending to be upset. You sat down on the couch, sending him to the kitchen to get his popcorn on his own. He cuddled you much harder after that and apologized a good dozen times. For the rest of the night you made him stay by your side and whenever something slightly off happened the both of you went. You were going to get him back for that, but even after that night. You still feel watched.

It's been a couple of months since you moved into this house. The house you now call home. You didn’t get many visitors, and when you wanted to see someone, they’d convince you to go to their house. Even the movers didn’t step foot inside, and most delivery services, if they knew, wouldn’t go further than the front lawn. And it was all because you moved into a house where someone committed suicide.

The day you bought the house, you didn’t even bother to look into its history. Your eyes only saw the unbeatable mortgage and pricing. I mean, of course, you looked at the interior and whatnot, but you thought people stayed away from it due to how long it’d been up. You thought they were scared of vintage houses. But, you were wrong. They didn’t like the house because it was haunted. At least that’s what the locals told you. They swore up and down you’d be running out of that house in no time, but it never came.

You assumed they were trying to have you leave because they despised the new people. Which made sense since they were a very small community of people and didn't have many visitors. And because of everything, you couldn't bring yourself to believe in the ghost. Because you’d been living there for months with nothing ghost-like occurring. And the only scary thing was how many teenagers came around to chant the name "Jonathan Blake". You always have to tell them off. You didn’t know what a sick and twisted high they got out of that. For fucks sake, let the dead be dead. You couldn't imagine how unbearable they'd be on Halloween night. Or maybe they'd leave you alone, believing this would be the height of the haunting.

Last night had been unbelievably rough. You had those kids come back, and you had a nightmare. A dark and gruesome nightmare. A nightmare about the suicide of Jonathan Blake. You felt terrible, but it wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t control what you dreamed about. Even so, you'd hoped you'd forget it more quickly. You needed to stop talking to the locals so much. They were getting to you. You forced yourself up, feeling the apparent sweat that had formed on your forehead. Your current bedroom was cold as you grudgingly got up. You came into contact with the wooden flooring as you yawned. You changed into some sweats and a shirt. You had no intention of doing anything. It was the weekend, after all. All you wanted to do was binge on scary movies and sleep some more. You walked through the house and you could hear your breath and steps echo. You then made it to the kitchen. The sun was fairly out due to it still being early in the morning. So you didn't need to turn on the light as you made your coffee, eagerly waiting for it to be done.

You stood there for a moment, waiting for your coffee to dispense as the doorbell rang vigorously. The disorienting noise rang throughout the house as it hurt your ears. Your hands jolted as you made your way to the door as fast as you could. You were going to snap if it was those kids again. As you cautiously opened the door, you were met with a pale man with short dark brown locks framing his face. And with that, he was adorning stereotypical mailman's attire, even adding a blue baseball cap on top. He held out a brown package. It must have been something that you ordered a while back.

"I believe this is for you." At first, he didn’t look at you but then turned to you. His face changed after staring at you for an uncomfortable moment. "Oh, good morning," he said cheerfully as he leaned against the doorframe. "I didn't expect to see an angel." his teeth were whiter than him. You’ve never heard someone unironically use such an internet pickup line.  "Um, thanks for the package," you said as you slowly shut the door in his face as he took the privilege of forcing it back open. "You know, it’s pretty rude to do that, but I'll let it slide." he looked at you for way too long, making sure to take you all in as you gave him a vile side-eye. The man stepped a foot into your house as you stared at him harshly. You didn’t know how many hints you had to give this man before; you’d have to slap him. You could feel yourself cringe. You would've preferred the angsty teens over this any day. He then took a step into your house as you backed away. "What are you doing?" you asked him as he tried to make his way into your house. "I'm making sure the package is delivered," he reassured. You could right-hook this man. He wasn't much taller than you. You could tear him apart. You told yourself. You weren't going to be the next death in this house. He then made his way completely into the house. He was making you uncomfortable, and you didn’t know what to do. You had to put your foot down.

"Hey, I’m not into you like that and I also don't feel comfortable with this, so please get out of my house." you were about to snap out on this man. He frowned harshly, his face tense a good amount. "I'm just doing my job, so why are you like that?" he raised his tone and acted as if he was in the right. This guy had the nerve to intrude into your house and then say that. You cussed him out. "It's my house and because you're fucking weird," you told the mailman, as he was taken aback for a second. "Oh, you're with that emo over there?' 'Is that why you won't give me a chance?" he asked, squinting in your living room. Who was he talking about? It was just you and you alone in that house. You had no roommate or partner. You knew right then that this guy was mental and you needed him out. You were going to go call the cops on the man as he started to cuss at whatever was behind you.

"Who?-" you stuttered as you heard loud footsteps marching their way toward the both of you. You heard them right behind you as they got closer to you. You felt a sudden cold surge go right through you as there was now a solid figure right in front of you.  Someone just walked through you completely, and you could still feel their touch. You could still feel the shivers that had run up your spine. The feeling was so ethereal but so unnatural, yet you wanted to feel it again. "Boo." The figure tilted his head as the mailman screamed violently. He fell to the floor as the figure towered above him. "Jonathan Blake?" he whispered as he picked himself up and ran out the door. The mailman screamed "Puppeteer" as he stuttered. He managed to cuss the both of you out as he ran for his truck. As soon as it was just you and the spirit. You could feel yourself swallowing. Fear injected itself into your system, but you couldn't manage to run. You were enchanted by whatever that past feeling was and now by the unhuman man in front of you.

The figure wore a gray beanie on top of his jet-black hair. His skin was an irregular gray, but that wasn’t the most out-of-place thing. It was his glowing yellow eyes. His golden eyes radiated toward your normal ones. He had no pupils or whites. It was all yellow. You couldn't stop staring in awe. You should have been terrified, and you were, but your fascination with him had overcome your fear. "Boo," he muttered again, getting even closer to your face. You could tell he didn't have his shoes on the ground. Instead, he was floating a couple of inches off of the hardwood floor. He looked into your eyes, tilting his head. He appeared to be questioning you more than you were questioning him. You didn't move or run. You just couldn't. You were mesmerized by him. And even so, you could feel your heart pounding out of your chest. You didn't even feel like you were there. You were just lost in his gaze as sweat fell to the floor. "Interesting," he said, raising his eyebrows as he put himself back onto the ground. You could feel his gaze burn into your trembling frame. He was still taller than you. It didn't even make a difference if he was in the air or not. He still stood strong. The room only seemed to get colder with him in it. You could smell coffee coming from the kitchen as you looked at the transparent man in front of you.

"There's an actual ghost in my house." the words came out shaky as you felt your lips tremble violently. "Sounds like a you problem." he stood strong in front of you. You reached out to his torso. You wanted to know if he was real. If he was a ghost or if you were going insane. You didn't know what this would solve, but you were going to try it anyway. You placed your hand on his chest, pushing it against it. Your hand didn’t go through. You could feel a chill run up your fingertips on contact. "You can’t just do that." he grabbed your wrist harshly as you attempted to pull back. But his hold was just too strong. A million thoughts were running through your mind, but you couldn’t seem to organize one of them. "Huh?" you wanted to say so much more. Was he a ghost or not? He made no sense. He felt solid, but seconds ago he walked straight through you. And seconds ago, he was floating. You had so many questions and yet no answer. For example, why did the guy who committed suicide, Jonathan Blake, go emo?

"Yes, I’m real, and yes I'm a spirit," he answered two of your questions as his hold on you went away, but his hand was still very much gripping onto you. He quickly slipped his hand through your arm to demonstrate it to you. In the legend, the people spoke of Jonathan Blake. They said he’d drive you to suicide just like the world did to him. They said he was violent. They said he would string you up and take your organs out one by one. But, here he was playing into your antics. He even saved you from that bitch of a mailman. Was he just playing with his food? You didn't know if you would be able to answer that. You were way too deep in the cold, soft feelings that he brought you. And every time you felt his hand phase, it was pure ecstasy. "I was hoping to make my appearance later, but, you know." he exhaled, waiting for you to relax and get over the initial hype of seeing a dead person.

Even with all of this. He was still a rumored spirit that fed off of suicide, and you weren't ready for it. You didn't want him to do that to you. You liked whatever was going on currently. You wanted to be his friend. "I don't want to die." your eyes widened softly as you gazed at him. You didn't want him to drag you into that dark place. You had a prime question in mind. One that stuck out. Was he gonna end you today or was he going to take his sweet time with you?  He chuckled and even laughed at your misery. "Oh, I love hearing that line’ ‘But, I’m not going to hurt you.’ ``Only cause you to live here, and it's making it easier to find people," he told you blankly, but you didn’t believe him. He wasn't actually going to leave you alone. You weren't going to be the one he chose to spare. You didn't even notice your hands violently shaking. You were so confused. You had way too many emotions coming at you at once. You were getting stressed and overwhelmed. It was too much for you. You could feel yourself hyperventilating as your vision went dizzy. Your legs turned to jelly as you started to wobble backward. You didn’t know what to say or do. You fell against the wall. The puppeteer quickly made his way to you.

As you backed even further into the wall, he pressed his hands on either side of your frame. "Shouldn’t have bought a house off Craigslist." he tilted his head down to you. He was much larger than you. He practically caged you, and the worst part was he didn’t even have to try. Tears pricked in the corner of your eyes as they ran down your face effortlessly. "Hey, it's okay." his yellow mouth laughed as he brought you in for a hug. He was alarmingly cold but still alluring. He probably didn't even know he was pulling at your heartstrings. You knew he wasn’t actually trying to comfort you, but it felt like he was. He wasn’t even trying to lie, but he already had you falling for it. He was being so sadistic toward you, but you couldn't help but completely indulge. Was he just capable of manipulating your feelings, or were you just like that? Were you playing checkers while he was playing chess?

But, for some reason, it felt good to be special. It felt good to be the only one excluded from his murder. It felt good to be the only one he had mercy on. But knowing how you were feeling about it made it so much worse. You liked being special to him. Even if he was lying to you. But, even with all of this, he had your mind spinning. You hated that you could even feel that for someone like him. You could feel the tinge of disgust coursing through you. You didn't understand why he wasn't trying to kill you. You didn't want to be excluded, but, at the end of the day, you had no choice. It wasn't up to you, was it? He grabbed your tear-stained face, wiping away your tears with his freezing hands. You could feel yourself involuntarily embracing him. It felt so good, but it was terrible. He still had a grin even after his fingers were stained with your tears.

He placed one of his digits that had been immersed in your tears and licked it. His finger popped out of his mouth as he smiled at you, taking your expression all in. He thrived in sorrow, and you were directly giving it to him. You could feel your stomach coil as red dusted your face. You wanted to listen to your impulsive thoughts. You wanted to run with it. You felt fluttering in your stomach. According to his legend, the only thing he could sense was depression. He probably didn’t know what you were about to do. But you did. This was going to get you killed.

"Now back to the deadly ghost in my house shock era," he muttered, expecting you to go back to freaking out. But you didn’t. Instead, you made sure he was in his solid state as you pulled him in by the collar and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. His golden smile immensely went away in pure shock. As his cold lips come into contact with your warm ones. For the second you two were connected, you swore you would have felt a faint shock. His lips were rough and harsh against your soft ones. You remembered the details by looking at his face. He stood still, mouth agape.

"I- I didn’t think that was a part of being scared of a spirit." he froze in place, blinking at you while tilting his head. You could see his gray cheeks had a darker gray sprinkled on them. He came back to you, pressing you back against the wall. He was much more curious than before. Maybe it was because you two were at vastly different temperatures. But, you wanted more, and you could sense he wanted more too by the way he stared at you. You didn’t know how to describe it other than with a hungry gaze. He dipped down again, about to connect your lips. You two heard blaring police sirens again. As soon as you turned to find the source and turned back, he vanished. After that morning, you were never alone. After that morning you had a poltergeist boyfriend. And now no one has ever fucked with you again after the mailman ran into town screaming that he’d seen him.

You just ended a call with your parents. You felt the tears roll down your cheeks, only to have new ones replace them. You had just come out to them and told them you were dating a girl named "Jane". They didn’t accept you. They could only list the reasons why it wasn’t right. They couldn’t see a single good thing about your relationship with her. If you only had the opportunity, you could’ve listed all the reasons why it was right. You shook as you curled up into a ball whilst you sat on the couch. You looked at the phone receiver in disbelief. There were so many ways that this could’ve gone and, of course, you managed to get the worst way.

You heard a hurried rush come from the door as it swung open. It was your girlfriend, Jane. She stood strong. She looked at you. Her figure slowly softened up. "Reader? ", "Is everything alright?’ ‘I heard you from the other room." she quickly got onto your level. You looked at her porcelain mask of a face as she rubbed your tears away with her soft hands. Her dark hair deeply contrasted with the white of her mask. She seemed stressed, as she always was. "I- I told my parents about us." you frowned as you struggled to form a sentence. You didn’t know what to say and you had the feeling she did.

"You’ve told your parents?’ ‘About us?" her posture stiffened. She was freaking out under all that control. You could tell from the way she held your cheek. It was much different than, the strokes before. "Yeah," you muttered under your breath, still shaken. You felt this oncoming dread slowly arise as you sat with Jane. "You know how dangerous that is?" she raised her tone as she looked at you. "I know and didn’t tell them that." you played it off, but she knew what you meant. "That I’m wanted for murder?" Jane looked at you, crouched down, but remained taller than you.

"Look-" you tried to speak before she cut you off abruptly. "Do you not get how dangerous I am?’ ‘I love you more than anything but it doesn’t mean I’m not a killer." Jane stood quietly she seemed to want to add so much more. "Do you not care about your family? Or even friends." she tried to be soft but you could tell she missed her own. "I love you." you didn’t know what to say. It was true that a good portion of your friends and family had blocked you. Though it was never because they thought she murdered people. It was always because you two were together. "I don’t want to lose you but I don’t want you to lose everything for me.’ ‘You don’t deserve that. I do." she explained and tried her best to communicate. There was a moment of silence before she spoke up. "Did nobody warn you about me?" she asked, looking at you. She couldn’t believe that such a sweet person could ever love her. Or even tolerate her. You could hear a short, brief sniffle coming from behind her mask. "I love you, Jane." You reached out to her. "I don’t care. I want you just as much as you want me" you softly smiled toward her as she took you in for a hug. You both held each other as the clock mercilessly ticked by.