And we're back!

If any of you lovely people have instances you would like to see in the future, inbox me about em! Let's make this more fun for everyone, yes? I'm sorry this chapter took longer than I expected. I got really sick this week |D I hope you enjoy this one! It was really fun to write!

Anyway, enough of my yammering XD Happy reading~


"Fwa! I'm so sleepy!"

You collapsed into your bed with a huge smile on your face. Winter break had arrived with the promise of snow, and you couldn't be more pleased. Two full weeks away from school and all the time to yourself. And to top it all off, your birthday loomed close by. Rolling over in your bed, you hug your favorite over-sized stuffed polar bear close to your chest and lay still for a few minutes, breathing in the scent of cotton and fresh linen. You were grateful for the utter peace you felt; the aches and pains that stung your doll-like frame were no longer there. The bruises and welts healed up nicely. Even the scar under your jaw became nothing more than a thin, slightly discolored line that curved gracefully along the bone. The only reminders of that night ever happening were the sharp gleaming blade and your short bob of messy hair. The winter chill hung aimlessly around your bedroom as you begin to drift off into a light slumber. Before you consciousness faded, it uttered a final fragment of thought.

"...where are you Jeff..."

Your eyes opened somewhat.

That's right.

You hadn't seen the teenager since you nursed him back to health on this very bed. Sometimes you would catch a glimpse of the signature white hood, and the brightest glimmer would brighten your icy irises. Yet the moment you focus your eyes on it, your building euphoria stands still and crumbles. There were also times when you would spot a very strange sight on the edge of the forest. A very, very tall mannequin wearing a black suit and tie was hoisted directly on the walkway towards the forest behind the school building. Whoever owned a suit shop tailored for insanely tall people definitely knew how to advertise. You've never met anyone that tall before, but this was a small town. Strange things were bound to happen.

You feel your pet mouse sniff around your eyelids and you smile a bit, reaching up to scratch his head with your finger. He squeaked in surprise and nudged his head against your fingertip.

"Hi buddy," you murmur half asleep.

The mouse ran his ears under your fingers and scurried away from you. Deciding you would sleep well this time, you roll onto your back with your polar bear and allow drowsiness to pull you under.

You feel a pulsating heat inches above your face. You hear a light panting noise as if there were a dog in your ear. Confused, your eyes open.

You had absolutely no idea what you were looking at. An inhumanly large row of grimy sharp teeth bombarded your field of vision, pieces of flesh stuck in between the gaps. The panting noise grew louder and you shift and suddenly freeze. A pair of beady eyes locked onto yours and an impossibly low growl echoed in your room. A thick, matted veil of black hair fell over its face and back, and you could see a pair of pointed ears sticking up straight from underneath. It looked like a horribly disfigured dog. And that smile reminded you of the man who saved you a month before. You blink.

"What the...how'd you get in here?"

The dog stood up on all fours and your body prickled with needles. It was huge. A huge, bloodied animal with a demonic-looking grin had somehow wandered its way into your room.

To say that you were scared shitless was an understatement.

Unable to tear your eyes away from that horrific smile, you sit there scanning your brain for anything useful in this situation. The dog seemed to be at ease as it stared back at you, wagging its bushy tail. You decide to chance it and offer it something to play with.

"Uh...heya big guy! You wanna play?"

The dog's mood instantly changed to the slap-happy giddiness of a puppy. It jumped on its two front feet and stuck its rear in the air, waving its tail like a militant flag. It yipped a few times and bounced around on the floor, drawing a giggle from you. Looking down at your polar bear, you decided you could patch him up later. You wave the toy around a bit and watch the dog track it with its eyes, its whole body stopping in a focused pounce buildup. You took this chance to get out of bed and cross over to an open space in the middle of your room.

"C'mon buddy! C'mon!" you call. Your voice was surprisingly light and delicate.

The dog barked and charged after you. It took a meaty bite of your polar bear and started to tug on it, growling playfully as it shook the doll around mercilessly. You laughter chimes over the grunts of the animal as you both play tug of war. How strange. You saw no collar around its neck, yet it behaved exactly like a household pet. It took no time at all for it to accept you as part of its pack. It was almost as if the dog came here already knowing your scent. No menace. No fear. Just jubilant playfulness. It instantly put you at ease.

The dog made an especially hard tug on the bear and you hear a loud riiiip! You loose your footing and slip onto your side on the carpet. The dog stopped playing and watched you, the torn bear hanging out of its mouth. You sit yourself up and rub your side with a groan with a smile on your face.

"Well that was fun, eh?" you said, directing your grin at the animal.

The dog dipped its head and walked over to you, ears flattened on its head. It made an apologetic whine and dropped your bear covered in dirty saliva in front of you, plopping down on the carpet beside you. You watch the dog carefully and reach out to pet it.

"Hey, it's okay. I can fix it no problem," you said, slowly patting the top of its head. The dog whimpered and rested its head on your lap as if to say "I'm sorry".

You smile and rub a spot behind its ears, earning you a pleased rumbling and a fidgety leg tapping. Before you knew it, you were giving the dog a full belly rub and enjoying every minute of it. The dog wormed away from your hands and tackled you, licking your face. You squealed like a little girl as you tried to push the dog off of you, but good lord was it heavy.

The dog seemed to thoroughly enjoy this and it became even more excited. It pushed some of its body weight on you and watched your face. The more you giggled, the more the dog played with you in this way, until a familiar voice demanded both of your attention.

"Smile!"

The dog stopped and swiveled its head towards the door. You couldn't see anything past the massive ball of fur, but you knew who it was.

"What the hell are you doing furball?"

Smile gave a hearty woof and its tail perked up again. You heard footsteps come closer to you.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to leave the house without telling me? I swear you're such a-"

Smile barked again and rose to its feet, leaving you exposed for you-know-who to see.

You clear your face of the dog's saliva and look up to where the it stood. Next to it was a bewildered Jeff the Killer.

You sit up and stretch your arms over your head, trying your best to act as nonchalant as possible despite the abrupt thudding going on in your chest. You certainly hadn't expected to see him today, especially not covered in dog spit. You turn your gaze to him and beam a smile.

"About time you came back. I started to think you weren't going to come back."

Jeff blinked wildly and averted his gaze to the wall. A faint pink hue started to rise in his cheeks. "Did Smile do that?"

"Huh? Do what?"

Jeff grimaced as his face turned red and pointed at your shirt. You suddenly feel a draft across your stomach.

Your shirt was crudely torn in half, leaving your bra in plain sight.

You make a high pitched squeal and stand up suddenly, covering your chest with your arms. Jeff flinched at the noise and eyed you warily as you reached for the alarm clock on your bedstand. Even Smile looked nervous.

Jeff backed away when your arm hoisted the clock high in the air. "U-uh? What are you-"

"GET OUT!"

You chuck the alarm clock straight into Jeff's face. The boy sputtered and fell over Smile's large body crouched behind his feet. He hit the floor without an inch of grace and scrambled wildly for the door. You continue to pelt him with various objects from your room in your embarrassment until he finally managed to get on his feet and out the door. Frazzled and somewhat dazed, you head to the bathroom with a new set of clothes, fighting the trembling feeling your body made.


"...Jeff? You still out here?"

You creak the door open a bit more and poke your head through it. It was quiet in the hallway. You timidly step out of your room.

"Jeff? Smile?"

"...over here."

You look down and see the boy and his dog huddled in a corner reading a book you probably threw at him. A pang of guilt hit your stomach as you smile apologetically. Jeff remained silent and glanced at you without a trace of emotion, however Smile bounced up from his seat and greeted you with a happy bark. You grin at the devilish canine and gently pet his head, careful not to repeat the tackling expo all over again. Jeff turned his attention back to the book and paid you no mind when you walked over to sit next to him. You peek at the book title and raise your brow cutely.

"My Edgar Allan Poe collection? ...did I throw this one at you too?"

Jeff's face was calm as he turned the page. "Clocked me right in the shoulder with it. It's gonna leave a bruise."

You instantly frown and draw your knees up to your chest. "S-sorry...I just...I didn't really mean to...I was so embarrassed I wasn't-"

"Thinking straight?"

You stay quiet, staring at the floor. Jeff's voice was gentle as he spoke.

"...there's no need. I shouldn't have come in unannounced. You simply reacted. No harm done." He flipped to the next page and glared at Smile, who was now sitting a little ways away from you. "But this mongrel knew better."

Smile's ears perked up and his smile seemed to grow. Was he laughing?

Jeff returned to the book with a focused expression on his face. You looked between him and the old pages repeatedly, trying your best not to stare at him. Your eyes swept across his strong jawline and the gentle swoop of his brow, now furrowed as he read. His mouth was set in a firm line, negating any chance of the cuts in his face to smile. But what caught your attention most was the deep color of his eyes. You thought they were black at first, but in the mid day sun, they shone a brilliant deep sapphire color, ringed in the black fringe of his eyelids. You even saw dark eyelashes that cast shadows down the bridge of his nose. His eyes flickered towards yours, and you freeze all over again.

He stared at you for a moment. "...what?'

"...y-you have a lump here..."

"A what?"

"From the alarm clock. It hit you in the face right?"

Jeff brushed his hair from his forehead and gently felt around with the edge of his fingers. "Mm...so there is." He shrugged and returned to his reading.

"Who wrote this...?"

"Eh? Oh, Edgar Allen Poe. It's...kind of on the book cover..."

Jeff nodded slowly, completely entranced by the words. "...he's a dark man. I like it."

You smile a little and relax into the comfortable atmosphere. "He's one of my favorite authors. But my favorite story of his is A Tell Tale Heart."

The boy turned to you in curiosity. "What's that?"

You smile and take the book from his hands, leaning into him so that he could see. The two of you began reading the book in a comfortable silence. Smile eventually padded his way to your side and plopped down next to you. The added weight pushed you into Jeff's body.

Both of you stayed still in the awkwardness until Jeff moved his arm away from you.

"Ah, sorry. Smile kinda just..."

The words died in your throat as Jeff wrapped the same arm around your shoulders, drawing you in closer to his broad chest. You could swear he could feel your heartbeat through your sweater being this close.

He glanced at you and readjusted the book as if nothing happened. "Easier to read this way. That dog won't budge now."

You could only nod as a strange new feeling bubbled in your chest. What is this?


The sun had fallen behind the clouds long ago. The halls devoid of light. You slept in the bliss of true comfort, one of which you'd never experienced before. There was a soft yet strong sensation, and an overwhelming feeling of warmth surrounded your body. Protection. Safety. Peace. It all moved in time with the rise and fall of your chest. You've never felt such security.

It carried the scent of pine trees and fresh rain, and a subtle human smell hung underneath it. It was seductively pleasant.

You couldn't explain the way it made you feel. All you could do was smile.

You felt a gentle swaying and a weightless descent into a fluffy sensation on your back. There was a light, feathery caress to your cheek and the soft. calming voice of someone nearby. The warmth pulls you back in as you rest, lulling you to sleep as gentle as your mother's distant lullabies.

Except this time, it stayed with you the entire night.