A/N: At last, another chapter. I'm excited for the next one already. I hope you can put up with me that long. ;) On a side note Alpha is now an official Beta! If you need something beta read she would be happy to oblige! (Shameless promotion is shameless) Anyways, ENJOY!
Jane
When I woke up the next morning, it was to Smile in my face. He sat on my chest pinning me to the the bed. Seeing that I was awake at last, he licked my face.
"Aw Smile, come on!" I protested, but there was no real weight to it. I didn't particularly want to have my head bitten off.
He woofed softly and rolled off of me, curling up by the wall. I carefully stepped out of my bed and got dressed. I would have rather had Smile leave before that, but I couldn't think of a way to make him go anywhere. He was almost the same size as I was. I threw on my new hoodie and sleepily walked out my door, making sure to leave it open so Smile could get out.
Yawning, I walked down the stairs. I couldn't help but feel annoyed at the fact that, unlike last night, the stairs didn't make a sound. I looked down Jeff's was quiet, so I continued down the stairs only to have someone wrap their arms around my waist and whisper, "Good morning, Jane." It sent shivers down my spine.
I elbowed Jeff in the stomach. He released me. "Keep your fucking hands off me, Jeff." I hissed.
He barked out a laugh. "Jane, Jane, Jane. Tisk, tisk. You need a new sense of humor." He ran his hands through my hair teasingly. "But you should know I don't mind the one you have now at all."
"Shut up!" I felt heat rise to my face. "Don't say things like that! I'm still going to kill you."
"Admit it, Jane. You can't kill me." His words burned in my gut. It made me want to stab his eyes out. "You like me too much."
I can and I will kill you. Tonight. I hurried away from Jeff in a huff and ran into the Puppeteer.
"Hey Jane," Puppet deftly caught me and set me back on my feet. "This is certainly an interesting way of saying good morning."
"She was just running away from me." Jeff called from above me.
Puppet laughed. "God, Jeff. You really need to learn how to treat a woman." He winked at me.
A grudging smile crept across my face and I smacked him, but I did it gently because I kind of agreed with him. "Shut up." I walk around him and finish my descent down the stairs.
I was met with Sally and Ben arguing heatedly. "Ben, I don't want a cookie instead of Charlie! Where did you put him?" Sally had large tears rolling down her cheeks.
"I'm not giving it back to you! Why do you even need that stupid animal?" Ben asked in annoyance.
"Charlie needs me! He will be sad without me." Sally wailed.
"Alright." I step between the two squabbling siblings. "What happened?"
Sally clutched at my dress and looked up at me with those big green eyes. "Ben stole Charlie and won't give him back!" She sniffled. "I miss Charlie."
"I didn't steal him! I borrowed him. I'll give him back." Ben looked away and I knew immediately he wasn't telling the whole truth.
"Ben, sweetie, what did you do with her teddy bear?" I asked calmly. I had no idea what had possessed me to help solve their dispute, but it was too late to back out now.
"Fine." He folded his arms across his chest and glared at the floor. "I hid him."
"Ben-"
"I lost him, okay!" He looked at me with true remorse in his eyes. "I was going to just hide him, but I don't remember where I put him."
Sally wailed louder than ever. "Ben! Now I'm never going to get him back! I hate you!" She sobbed into my side and I immediately felt like shit. What are adults supposed to do in this circumstance?
"Um, don't cry. We'll help you find Charlie." I glared at Ben. "Right?"
"I'm afraid that won't be possible. Benjamin has places to be today." Slenderman leaned over our little huddle. "But I'm sure Sally would love to have your help, Jane. But first, I insist you both eat something. I won't have anyone starve on my watch."
"Okay, Slender." I fixed both Ben and Sally with a firm glance. "First, I want you both to apologize to each other."
"Sorry." they both mumbled in unison.
"Spoken like a true adult." Slenderman said approvingly. Something in my chest swelled with pride and happiness.
"Thanks." I grabbed Sally's hand in my right hand and Ben's in my left, then pulled them both to the source of all the wonderful aromas. In the kitchen I was met with Laughing Jack. On the different surfaces rested plates heaped with eggs, bacon, toast, peppermint patties, and, mysteriously, one plate of waffles.
"Take anything but the waffles!" LJ announced. "Those are for Toby. He gets upset if he doesn't get them." I didn't question this. Instead, I grabbed plates from where they rested and handed one to Sally and Ben, keeping one for myself. We all loaded our plates, then sat down at the small kitchen table.
"So Ben," I started after a couple of minutes spent eating. "Do you have any idea where you left the bear?"
"I don't know! I do this a lot so it could be anywhere." He sighed and hunched his shoulders guiltily. "It's one of my favorite games to play! Most of the time I hide it in someone's room so they find it and give it back to Sally."
Ah, so that's why Masky found Charlie! "So, we might have to go through people's rooms?" I felt slightly uncomfortable with that. Going through Jeff's room in the middle of the night was one thing. Going through some creepypasta's room that I didn't know was something entirely different. Going through Jeff's room again was a can of worms I wasn't even going to look at.
"Well duh!" Ben waved his fork around haphazardly. "I didn't hide it in my room or your room, but anywhere else is a possibility." His fork flew from his hand, nearly impaling Painter in the face. The Bloody Painter merely ducked under it and moved on like it was a common occurrence. "You might have to search the whole house!"
I nodded uncomfortably, already resigned to what was sure to take up the entirety of my day. "Okay, I'm sure we'll find the teddy bear eventually."
"I'm sorry to inform you Jane that Sally will not be helping." Slenderman was leaning over our conversation with a sincerely apologetic presence. "She has not killed anyone in two weeks and therefore is severely behind on her quota."
"But Slendy…" Sally pleaded.
He turned to face the rest of the kitchen. "What have I told you about arguments?" It was phrased as a question, but was clearly a statement not to be quibbled with.
Sally pouted a bit, but when everyone else started leaving, she went with them.
I was left alone.
The house was colder now. Empty and large with the high ceilings that had seemed open, but now felt impersonal. I wandered into the hall outside the dining room and slowly made my way down it. There was a restroom which only prompted a glance to check, and an unused office that inspired only a nervous peek. I was quick in moving on however, determined to get this bear business over with as quickly as possible.
I softly climbed the stairs to the first floor, wincing at every creak and crack the old house made. There were five doors, but only three of them appeared to be in use. There was also a doggy door on my left and so I started there, reasoning that someone as small as Ben could probably fit in easily.
I crawled on hands and knees into the small, cramped room. It clearly belonged to Smile. There were a few old toys that all resembled human bits but thankfully didn't smell like them. Sadly, Charlie was nowhere to be seen. I backed out of the door and hit my head on the sill.
"Ow!" My voice reverberated around the hall eerily. I shut my eyes and cowered slightly. This wasn't adding up to be a pleasant day.
I crossed the hall and entered the next door, and immediately left. The smell was unbearable. It burnt my nostrils and invaded my taste buds viciously. I opened the door again slightly and looked in. The room was littered with bloody arms, legs, heads, and just about anything else you could think of. Then I noticed that the other side of the room looked like a party had exploded. It was filled with streamers and confetti. Sadly, the merry decor did nothing to help the rest of the room. After a cursory once-over, I shut the door on the odor.
I went over the other two used rooms in much the same way. According to what Clockwork had told me, the rooms on this floor belonged to Pinky and the Rake, Zero, and Painter. She also informed me, with many a wink and a nudge, that Painter shared the room with Puppet.
Sadly for me, not a one contained the elusive teddy bear.
I proceeded to the fourth floor. I checked the first of two used bedrooms with caution, given my previous experience, and was pleasantly surprised. Hoodie and Masky had managed to keep their room, for the most part, clean! I searched it nervously, terrified that Masky would find me. I wasn't quite scared of him, but I did fear another nasty argument.
Absolutely sure that I wouldn't find the bear in this particular room, I left Masky's and Hoodie's room and moved to open the door across the hall. The door was locked. I wondered briefly why LJ would keep his room locked, then decided that I'd rather not know.
I walked soundlessly to Slendy's office. Just as before, the door opened when I neared it. I wondered if the house could sense where I was going. I stepped in and was immediately assaulted by memories of my first night here. The memory felt different than before.
That night, I had been furious and terrified. Jeff had just dragged me here and I had no fucking clue what was happening. It all should leave a bad taste in my mouth, but instead it felt detached and foreign. Jeff was still the bad guy, but this place wasn't a prison like I had originally assumed it would be. It felt rather like a haven to me now.
I was repulsed by the realization.
I checked the office silently only to find it empty. I almost wished that Jeff was talking in my ear. It would be better than this oppressive stillness.
I hurried up to the third floor, hoping I wouldn't have to look into Jeff's room. I entered Toby's room and groaned. His room was a disaster unlike any other. I sifted through dirty hoodies, scarves, and all manner of unmentionable trash for what felt like forever before throwing my hands into the air in defeat. There was no way I would be able to find the bear under all this junk. I left, hoping it was somewhere else.
Clockwork's room proved to be an easier task. It might be cluttered, but it wasn't anything compared to her boyfriend's. Charlie, however, wasn't there.
I knew what that meant, but I still dreaded what came next: Jeff's room.
As I turned the handle, I bit back all the anger and confusion I harbored for him. The room looked like it had last night. Everything was mussed, but not unpleasantly so. It had a lived-in feeling that the other rooms in the house had lacked for one reason or another. I hated to admit it, but I kind of liked it. I went through EJ's section slowly, postponing the inevitable search of Jeff's side of the room.
But I knew that I was being stupid. He wasn't here, so how could he hurt me? I started going over his side of the room. The fact that he had lived here a while was apparent in the personal odds and ends he had. A few little trinkets were scattered over his bedside table, and several pictures that looked like Sally had drawn them hung on the walls. I searched valiantly for Charlie, but couldn't find it anywhere. I couldn't find my knife either.
I was just about to give up when I saw a worn brown ear peeking out from behind the bed. I tugged and, sure enough, Charlie popped out.
"Fucking finally!" I pumped my fists in the air victoriously as elation filled me at long last. Sally had better thank me once she got back her bear.
So excited was I that I almost missed the other thing I had pulled loose.
It was a small, beaten down photograph. I slowly picked it up and squinted at the tiny figures, nearly dropping the photo when I realized who they were. It was Jeff and his…brother, Liu. Before the fire, before Jeff had turned into a murderer, and before he had viciously killed his brother. Tears gathered at the corners of my eyes and threatened to fall as the past assaulted me with painful memories that I'd rather forget.
What really struck me was how genuinely happy Jeff looked in the photo. I remembered how much he had loved his brother, and how easily he had killed the boy in the end.
I closed my eyes, trying to remember if Jeff's brother had been there at the table with the rest of his dead family. I found that I couldn't place him among the faces, but I was still very sure he had died all the same.
I felt the air move around me and spun like a top to find Slenderman and Hoodie standing there, framed like a picture in the doorway. I wondered how long they'd been standing there. I looked back at the picture and decided it couldn't get any worse for me, so I might as well ask.
"Slender, why-"
Slendy cut me off smoothly. "I don't think Jeffrey would want those memories brought up again. Would you be so kind as to slip that back behind his bed?" I felt melancholy hang heavy in the air around us and sensed that I had touched on a sore subject once more. I did as I had been bidden and softly slipped the paper back into its solitary grave.
Slender left me there with the silent Hoodie. I looked up at him, hoping for answers.
He exhaled slowly before at last speaking. "Jeff has a dark past. You Jane, of all people, should know that."
I felt something well up inside me and recognized it as the ugly head of pity. Pity that was directed at Jeff. "I know his past Hoodie, I was part of it. What I want to know is what happened to him here!" I was pleading, but I had to understand even if I was going to just kill Jeff in the end.
Hoodie shook his head. "You need to ask Jeff that. Only he has the right to talk about it."
I nodded at last. Picking myself up off the floor, I whispered, "Do I even want to know?"
His laugh was bitter as he looked up at the ceiling. "No, you really don't."
The rest of the week followed a pattern. Everyday, I would drag myself out of bed and suffer through Jeff's morning torments. I would have the rest of the morning to myself until lunchtime rolled around and everyone started showing up after their killing. Most pastas stayed out until dinner but some, like Slender, were pretty time-efficient and returned in time to make lunch.
Dinner would be a nightmare, as Slendy had permanently set me beside Jeff, but I would persevere, always looking forward to the night.
Every night after the house was asleep, I would creep out of bed, descend to Jeff's room, and try to kill him.
Slenderman caught me every time. The fact that I tried the same tactic every night probably confirmed my insanity, but I was desperate. It wasn't until the last night of the week that I had finally gotten the spark of inspiration I needed to come up with a semi-decent plan.
I was chatting with Zero about nothing in particular after dinner. She was laughing at a joke Puppet had made and I was smirking at the furious look Painter had on his face when Jeff sat down beside me.
"How are you tonight, Jane?" I felt his arm slide around my shoulders and the violent shrugging off of it was more of a habit than actual repulsion from the contact.
"Fuck off, Jeff. I was having a wonderful chat with Zero and I'd rather not have you ruin it." I muttered to him.
Jeff cackled. "Why don't you tell me to fuck off a few more times, Jane? Maybe by doing it more than once in a row you'll get through to me." He slid his arm back around my shoulders. "Come on, try again."
I got up roughly, to much mirth from Jeff and everyone else present. "You know that sometimes you could at least try not to get on my nerves."
"You accuse me falsely!" he declared with a typically devilish grin.
I made a furious noise and left the den. As I climbed the stairs to my room I realized that I had been here a week and Jeff was still alive. It was a depressing thought.
That's when it finally hit me as Jeff's comment lodged itself in my brain and wouldn't go away. Try it more than once in a row.
I knew how to kill Jeff.
I followed my typical pattern that night. I pretended I was asleep until Sally was, then I rose from bed and crept down to where Jeff was sound asleep. As I entered his room, I froze a moment to be sure he wasn't awake. His back was to me but his deep breaths hinted at sleep.
As always, I slipped over to his bedside table and grabbed the knife. I brought it up to stab him and, right on cue, Slenderman yanked the knife from my hand and pulled me from the room.
He seemed more tired than usual. Toby was yawning beside him. I grinned at him and he gave me a mock salute.
Slender sighed. "Jane, do we really have to go through this again?"
I bit my lip holding back a laugh. If only you knew. "Probably. It's not like I'm just going to stop."
Toby's chuckle fades into another yawn. "At least she's honest Slender."
Slender's blank face was exuding a powerful aura of I'm so done with this shit. "Jane, I am asking you to stop this insanity here. You will be able to go out and kill people very soon. I'm sure that someone who has the patience to do this every night can wait for just a short amount of time."
"Aren't you ever going to give up, Jane?" Toby asked, half joking. "Because I'm getting sick of waking up at midnight every night."
I gave an exaggerated sigh. "But that would be no fun, Toby! Everyone knows that attempted murder in the dead of night is a cliché too good to pass up."
"Enough!" Slender roared in my head. I covered my ears, like it would do any good. Toby winced slightly. "This is not some game, Jane." Slenderman continued more softly. "You need to learn to forgive Jeff. Otherwise, this will keep happening."
I shrugged and smiled at Toby. "Hey, I'm down for that. How long do you think it'll take for Masky to snap?"
Toby looked into the distance thoughtfully. "I'd say two more weeks."
Slender threw his hands in the air. "You're harder to deal with than Sally!"
He dropped me on the floor of my room and slammed the door behind me.
"Jane, what's going on?" Sally asked sleepily.
"Nothing." I muttered distractedly. "Go back to sleep, sweetie."
She struggled to sit up in bed. "Why do you leave the room every night, Jane? Masky said you're trying to kill Jeff. You wouldn't do that, would you?"
I winced at the question. "Sally, sweetie, Jeff was really terrible to me when we were younger." I said, hoping she would understand. "He deserves to die."
No such luck. "Jeff is a good person now. You can't kill him." The pleading in her voice made me feel like the bad guy. "He hasn't tried to kill you since you got here, Jane. You need to give him a chance. He cares about you, why can't you do the same?"
At those words, my stubbornness solidified. "I don't know where you got that impression of Jeff, but he does not care about me. All he wants to do is make my life miserable. How can you not see that?"
"Because it isn't true! He just doesn't know how to tell you he cares." Sally sounded close to tears.
I groaned. "This isn't a romance novel, Sally." When she only stared at me blankly, I sighed. "Does this look like a fairy tale? He's no more a prince charming than I am a princess." I put my head in my hands. "Sally, I need to kill Jeff, That has been my primary goal in life since he killed my family."
"He didn't do it to hurt you, Jane. He killed his own family too. He's insane. He kills everyone without any malice behind it. He just wants to see the world burn." Sally sounded so grown up that I almost listened to her words. I almost agreed with what she said. But just like the rest of my life, it was only almost.
"And what's to stop him from stabbing me in the back?" I asked coldly,
Sally had no answer. She sat in silence for a minute or two before whispering, "Don't do it, Jane. You can be happy here. You don't have to kill Jeff just to be happy."
I ignored her little voice and turned my back to her. I listened as she lay back down and, despite her fears, was soon asleep.
"Yeah, I kind of do Sal." I whispered to the still figure.
With soft, careful steps, I grabbed my hoodie and threw it on. If I was going to kill Jeff, I wouldn't exactly be able to run back and get it. I walked down the hall, trying to take it all in. I knew this would be the last time I saw it; these stairs, this door...
With trembling fingers, I pushed Jeff's door open for the second time that night. I traced the well versed path to his bedside table and was just about to pick up his knife when I realized with a jolt he was staring at me.
My heart leapt to my throat and I froze, prayers tumbling soundlessly from my lips. Then I realized he wasn't awake. Even though his eyes were wide, all they saw was darkness. Just to check, I waved my fingers in front of his face. When Jeff didn't stir, I picked up his knife reverently and prepared to kill him.
And I couldn't.
I stood there with the power of death and sweet revenge in my hands at last, and I was failing to do anything but stand there.
I desperately scrabbled for the mental reserves of hatred I had for Jeff and found them empty. Void of anything but a weak annoyance that sputtered sickly in the depths of my mind.
I felt broken. What the fuck is wrong with me? Just stab him already. But I couldn't move a muscle.
The truth was, I didn't really want to kill Jeff anymore. Over the past week, I had drained away all that hatred and now the only thing left was a soft pity for him.
I shook my head to clear it and closed my eyes. Even if my heart was telling me I didn't hate Jeff anymore, my mind would never rest if he was alive. That had to still be true. I opened my eyes and plunged the knife down.
Jeff's hand flew up and grabbed the blade. It cut deeply into his palm, staining the sheets below with crimson liquid. He seemed to take no notice of his injury. He merely yanked the knife from my weakened grasp and gripped my arm with his free hand.
"Now Jane," he chided softly as he smoothly rose from his bed. "It's not nice to kill people in the middle of the night."
I tried to free myself, but it was a pointless struggle. I was terrified to make a sound because technically I was the one in the wrong here. I noticed with a start that he wasn't wearing his hoodie. I had always just assumed he never took it off. His thin cotton tee didn't leave much to the imagination.
He thankfully improved my state of mind by grabbing his hoodie and half putting it on. I tried to use this distraction to slip away, but no such luck. "Stop struggling sweetheart, it won't help your cause." Suddenly, the world turned upside down as Jeff slung me over his shoulder and carried me from his room. I started fighting in earnest now but he had my legs (and thankfully skirt) pinned so most of what I could do was beat on his back with my fists and claw at him with my nails.
Once we were in the hall however, I growled, "Put me down, you bastard."
Jeff's laugh hissed through his teeth. "Not likely, sunshine."
I ground my teeth together in outrage. "Don't call me that, Jeff. I hate you!"
"Admit it, you don't actually hate me." he whispered teasingly as he descended the stairs.
I opened my mouth to retort, then shut it again because sadly he was right. "That doesn't give you a right to just sling me over your shoulder."
"Save your breath. I'm not really listening yet." I watched the world turn right side up at last. Jeff set me down gently on the top step of the front porch. I watched as he finished putting his hoodie on and worried for a minute he was throwing me out until he took a seat beside me and fixed me with those terrible yet perfect eyes.
We sat there for a long moment, neither of us wanting to break the quiet.
At last, Jeff hissed, "We need to talk."
A/N: And cue the cliffhanger!
