Hey! Sorry it took me a while to update, haven't really been online lately XP
Chapter 1: Watched
(Brian's Pov)
A soft, pleasant, warm, breeze brushed against my cheek like a mothers fingertips softly stroking her child's skin, I could hear the song of birds floating about the surrounding trees around me and the gentle crunch of protest from the brown leaves beneath my feet as I walked through a forest the trees like towers to me. Bags of groceries hung from my arms like weights, as I walked towards home or at least what me and my best friend Tim called home. I stopped suddenly. A very strange feeling creeping up on me. It wasn't just any feeling… It wasn't the oh I think I forgot something or the I think I'm lost feeling… It was more than that… It was a lingering presence of something watching me, the feeling of eyes staring at the back of my head, eyes devouring my soul as it floats in my body.
I look around, only the blank space between the towers of trees and brush stood around me, just taunting my suspicious, just trying to tell me I was paranoid. Nobody was being concealed in the shadows. Nobody was there. Nobody would attack him at any moment.
I shook my head to clear it, walking on through the forest, trying to shake off the overwhelming feeling. I needed to find Tim… He always knew the right things to say… I sped up slightly, soon reaching the small apartment building where Tim and I lived. I climbed the stairs quickly, knocking on our door. Hopefully Tim wasn't asleep or something
"Tim!" I called hoping he'd answer, for I, like an idiot, forgot the key! The door squeaked in protest as it opened, allowing me inside our room.
"Hey Brian," Tim's gruff voice spoke.
"Hey Tim. Before you ask, yes, I got everything on the list." I said, putting the groceries on a counter. He nodded, closing the door behind me with a click. He looked over at me.
"Cheesecake?" He asked as he rummaged through the bags.
I smiled. "I said everything didn't I?" I heard him chuckle softly, pulling out a box of cheesecake.
"Yes you did," he said licking his lips, his long brown hair falling in front of his face, his chocolate brown eyes staring hungrily at our favorite dessert.
I took it from. "Later Tim. After lunch." I chuckled.
"Oh come on!" He frowned, putting hands on his hips, and furrowing his eyebrows.
"Timothy it'll ruin your appetite and I have something planned for dinner." I scolded, poking his forehead. A smirk formed it's way on his lips.
"Yes mother" he teased.
"Hey!" I pouted. I heard him snicker.
"You sound like my mother," he mused, a playful glint in his chocolate eyes.
"Cause I worry about you." I pouted. He chuckled, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. He popped the end in his mouth and inhaled it. I raised an eyebrow at him.
"What? Want one?" He asked offering me a cigarette.
"Sorry, but I'm allergic to lung cancer." I said with a disapproving frown. Tim rolled his eyes, giving his cigar another puff. "Speaking of which, I wish you'd stop smoking, you're not helping your lung problems by smoking," I pointed out.
"I don't have lung problems. The coughing is a childhood thing." He muttered.
"It still doesn't help it," I argued.
"I'm fine." Tim assured me. "By the way, where are my pills? I had to take some an hour ago but I could find them."
"Oh! Ya, you were out so I bought more from CVS," I said going through the bag until I found his prescription medicine.
"Thanks!" Tim grinned, taking two pills and swallowing them. I felt myself smile, a wave of happiness flooding over me.
"No problem," I said.
"So. You said you had something planned for dinner." Tim chuckled. I nodded, anticipation bubbling up inside of me. "Are you cooking? Because if you are, I'll go get the fire extinguisher," he teased.
"Oh come on." I said indignantly. "I've been practicing."
"Alright, have at it," he chuckled sitting on the couch and sucking in some smoke from his cigarette. I took out a bunch of ingredients and began cooking while Tim watched tv. I heard the sound of the news on, I knew it was the news because I heard some reported guy talking about more disappearances again. Though I decided to listen in for once, I never really did.
"All around the area, children have been mysteriously disappearing. Usually, the children have entered Rosswood Nature Park and don't come out. Days before they disappear they have said that they have the overwhelming feeling of paranoia." I shivered slightly at this information. Tim and I lived near Rosswood. Though the thought dawned upon me, why would those kids be going into the Nature park anyways? Especially if they're paranoid. Seems illogical to me, honestly even though I feel like I'm being stalked, I just wanna stay safe at home with Tim… What drove the kids to go into the forest? With another puff on his cigarette, Tim switched the channel. I shook my head slightly and continued cooking. I needed to tell Tim about this… Surely he wouldn't think I was crazy right? I'd tell him later, while we were eating. For now, I just had to focus on cooking.
(Time Skip: Supper)
I finished laying everything on the table. It didn't look half bad if I say so myself. "Tim! Dinner!"
He looked towards me and turned off the television and sat at the table and began piling his plate with food. I sat down myself and began filling my own plate with food. Looking over at Tim as he ate my cooking hungrily "You're getting good at this Brian," he commented, a mouth full of mashed potatoes.
I grinned proudly. "See? And you doubted me." I purred. He chuckled at me.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop doubting you," he mused.
"You better." I chuckled, pointing my fork at him. We were quiet for a minute or two before that feeling… Washed over me again… As if I was being watched… I needed to tell Tim… "Hey Tim... Um... I need to tell you something." I started slowly. He looked up at me from his food still chewing.
"Yus?" He asked mouth full of food.
"So... Um... Recently... I've been having this really weird feeling of being watched." He chewed and swallowed.
"You mean like those kids that have disappeared on the news?" He asked, I didn't know if this was just a trick my brain was playing on me but I swore I heard a hint of fear in his voice.
"Yeah... I think..." I said softly. He stayed silent for a bit, getting that look on his face that told me he was pondering, he bit his bottom lip, his eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes squinted ever so slightly.
"Are you sure that you're not just paranoid over the disappearances?" He asked.
"I didn't know about them until today." I pouted
"Well, how long has this been happening," He asked worriedly, I could actually see the worry in those brown eyes.
"For a while. I'm not sure how long ago it started..." I sighed. He stayed silent for a few minutes, that look reappearing on his face.
"Stay away from those woods… Alright?" He said.
I nodded. "I'll be going shopping from now on Kay?" Tim said. He probably mentioned this cause the only way to get to the supermarket is going through the forest. I nodded thankfully. Good I didn't want to go through that forest any more… The rest of dinner was silent.
Chapter 2: Distance
(Brian's Pov)
He's…. He's everywhere…. He…. He's always watching me…. He waits for me to snap… He thinks…. He thinks that I'll let his guard down…. Ya… He thinks he can get me then! He won't get me! He won't get me! The faceless man... He follows me everywhere... Even in my dreams... I can't let him get me...! I won't let him!
"B-Brian?" A voice interrupts my thought. HE'S ONE OF THEM! HE'S TRYING TO SELL ME OFF O THE FACELESS MAN! I look at the source of the voice, my eyes a bit wider than usual. "Brian are you alright?" Tim asked worriedly. Tim… Tim couldn't be with the faceless man…. Right? But… What if he was? What if Tim was just a lure?
"S-Stay away!" I cried, fear clenched my heart.
"Brian... It's just me. I'm not gonna hurt you. We've been friends since forever..." Tim tried to assure me.
"N-no! Y-you're with him!" I couldn't think sensibly at this point. The Delusions running through my head told me I could trust nobody but myself.
"Him? Who is him?" Tim asked
"T-the faceless m-man," I breathed
"Brian... I have absolutely no idea who the hell you're talking about..." Tim said softly.
(Tim's Pov)
What was wrong with Brian!? What was he talking about? And I thought it couldn't get any worse, he began rambling about something at I assumed was the faceless man.
"Don't look... or it takes you… Follows… No No No No No No No No No No No No… Always watches…" He began screaming "NO EYES! CAN'T RUN! LEAVE ME ALONE! HELP ME!" He cried.
Every night I heard him waking up from nightmares, screaming. His blood pressure would rise at completely random times and he began having coughing fits that sounded like mine
I wanted to help him… I wanted to help him so badly… But…. What was I to do? My best friend was suffering? I wanted to refrain from putting him in an asylum… I would never put him in a place like that… Sharing my pills with him seemed to help a bit for some reason. He at least calmed down a bit. But I was running low… I was too scared to leave him alone… What if he ran to the forest if I left him alone? It was bad enough that he always demanded paper, and always drew those words very sharply and drew trees and a faceless man (though I wouldn't exactly say it was detailed, in fact it was as detailed as a drawing made by a 3 year old) But it was scaring me... I tried calling a doctor but Brian destroyed all our home phones for some reason. He locked everything, didn't eat... It was worrying me… Then one day, he disappeared… I looked for days on end but he was simply… Gone… I looked everywhere… Everywhere except for the woods… He had to be in there right? He had to be somewhere!
I rummaged in my drawer for something, anything that I could use to find Brian. I suddenly pulled out an object, it was a cylindrical, metal object with a glassy base and a black rubber button at the top. A flashlight. Quickly pulling on a jacket, I ran outside, switching on the flashlight. I ran into the forest.
"Brian!" I called. Please answer me please! I pleaded desperately to whatever being could hear me "Brian please! Answer me!" I called again, silently praying to whatever was even there that I would find Brian, and that he'd be okay.
The trees stood over me like dark shadows, looming over my small form like giant gods, er planty ones. I pulled my jacket closer around me, the cold breeze sending shivers up my spine.
"BRIAN!" I called loudly, my throat was already starting to ache from how much stress I put into each urgent call. I doubled over in a coughing fit, cursing myself for leaving my pills at home. My lungs ached, throbbing painfully in my chest "BRI….AN" I choked out in a last attempt to call my friend. I fell to my knees, coughing violently into my hand. Dammit... I couldn't move, my whole body trembled violently. My vision became blurry and I collapsed. My sight faded away into an abyss that I was assured was my death… Or at least a coma.
Chapter 3: Playing Nurse
(Brian's Pov)
I set up the last camera, hopping down neatly from the tree branch, the leaves barely registering on my black gloved hands. Standing up straight, I looked up at my master.
"Good job Hoodie." He praised, though I don't know how he could really talk, he doesn't exactly have a mouth… Or eyes…. Or a face... I remained silent, simply nodding my head. It had been a couple days since my master made me his servant, or proxy as he called me, and gave me my new name. Hoodie. I wasn't Brian anymore… I couldn't really focus on anything because I was always thinking of Tim… I missed him.. I wanted to see him again... "Hoodie! Are you listening to me?" Master's voice cut through my thoughts like a knife.
"Y-Yes Master... f-forgive m-me. I s-spaced out f-for a moment..." I said quietly. I've been stammering a lot lately... I'm not entirely sure why either. I could hear him sigh exasperatedly.
"I said. Hang up these papers on the hiding spots with circles and an X in the center. You may do whatever you please until I call you again after that," He said.
"Y-yes m-master." I nodded, taking the pages from his slender hand and walking off to find the mark he had said for me to find.
I carefully searched the forest for the marks and placed papers on each mark, keeping the paper stuck to whatever objects they were. Once that was done, I started quickly making my way through the forest. Maybe... Maybe I could find Tim. I could tell him I was okay. That I was alive. I walked, the trees dark tall towers. I could barely see past the coverage of the roof of leaves above me.
"BRI...AN!" I faint call flowed into my ears. Tim... I began running, avoiding trees as I ran to the voice of my best friend. Then there I saw him… On the forest floor, a flashlight rolled out of his hand.
"Tim…." I breathed, I could feel my breath, hot and humid against my face like steam as it rolled onto my face after bouncing off the mask that covered my face. I took my mask off and shoved it into the pocket of my hoodie . Tears slid down my cheeks like hot rivers, clearing a path through the dust on my heated cheeks. Was he dead? Was my best friend dead because of me? I picked him up gently and began dragging him towards home. He was too heavy for me to carry, mostly because I had noodles for arms. "God damn… Noodle arms…" I huffed, breathing heavily as I tried to drag him to some sort of shelter. I took several breaks but I finally managed to get him back to our apartment somehow. Thankfully, he had the key on him so I could get inside and lay him on the coach. I buckled over putting my hands on my knees and panting heavily, exhaustion wore on my limbs and my lungs burned as if I ran a marathon. (Though honestly I don't think I could even make it past a mile) I wiped my brow with my forearm, removing beads of sweat that slipped down my temple. Tim groaned softly, his eyes opening slightly.
I felt a smile pull itself across my lips. Tim, he was alive! Oh thank god! "Tim!" I cried happily, hugging his fevered body tightly.
"Brian...?" He asked softly.
"Ya… It's okay, I'm alive, I'm not hurt," I whispered, stroking his hair, his forehead was burning hot… It dawned upon me… He just had one of his attacks… He had a fever, this one must have hit him hard. I began to feel guilty for not being there to help him. "Tim... I'm so sor-" Then pain stabbed my head. I hissed in pain, putting my gloved hand on my head.
"Wh… What's wrong Brian?" Tim asked his voice breathy, pain in it.
"I... I have to go..." I said softly, thankful he hadn't fully opened his eyes yet. I pulled my mask and hood back on. Master was calling...
"B-but I ju-just got you ba-ck…" He whispered in pain and protest.
"I'm sorry... I so sorry... But I have no choice." I gave him a quick hug, going over to the window and opening it, climbing outside and jumping to the ground, landing silently. "I'll come back later!" I called up to him before I ran off into the sunrise, leaving to please my master, troubling what if's plagued my mind. What if Tim gets another attack? What if he dies while I'm gone? What if master doesn't let me return to him? I sped up slightly, trying to push those thoughts out. Master could read minds... if he found out... it wouldn't be good. He's already probably upset. I'm late.
I ran, and ran. and ran, until I reached Master, panting but refraining from doubling over. He stood in the shadow of a tree, his arms crossed.
"You're late Hoodie." He said sternly.
"I-I'm s-sorry master I-I r-ran a long w-way," I stuttered, avoiding eye contact and staring at my shoes, trying my best to keep my thoughts away from Tim. He looked at me for a moment and I could feel him trying to read my mind, to see why exactly I was late. But I wouldn't let him. I blocked Tim from my thoughts. I wouldn't let him see Tim… I wouldn't let him hurt Tim. He sighed softly.
"Alright, next assignment," He said. "I want you to stalk this man" He ordered shoving a file in my hand. I opened the file, looking it over. "I've been trying to make him my proxy for a while. But he's a great deal more stubborn than you, so I need to make him give in." I nodded and read the name at the top… Tim… My Tim! He could be my partner! We could be proxies together!
"I c-can con-convince him M-Master!" I said hurriedly.
"I'm giving you two weeks. I expect you to do your part to assist me." Master said, looking down at me.
"Th-that's all the ti-me I need!" I said before hurrying off to Tim. I pulled off my mask as I ran, stuffing it back into my pocket. I could go back to Tim! We could be proxies together and we'd never have to be apart!
I grinned at the thought at I skipped up the steps of the apartment and ran into our room. "Tim! I'm back!" I said happily as I ran over to him and kneeled at his side feeling the carpeted floors like a cushion beneath my knees. "I'm back and I'm not leaving again!" I grinned, gripping his hand with my gloved ones. I saw him smile his eyes closed.
"Good…" He whispered. "Hey Brian... could you... give me some pills?" He asked a bit weakly. I nodded and fetched his pills from the counter and got a bottled water to drink it with, then I headed back over to him and unscrewed the cap of the water bottle. I helped him sit up, putting the pills in his hand. He put them in his mouth, swallowing them with some water. "Thanks." He smiled. "I feel better now."
"No problem," I whispered, I began petting his shaggy brown hair before I could stop myself, though I couldn't feel the soft tufts due to my gloves, but I could still sort of feel their presence beneath the cloth of my black gloves. I leaned my head on his shoulder, hugging his waist tightly.
"Thank you… Brian…" He whispered.
"Your welcome..." I murmured.
"I mean... thank you... for coming back... I missed you Brian..." He breathed.
"I missed you too... I'm sorry for leaving..." I didn't mention master just yet. It wasn't the right time... He smiled and took my hand in his. I could feel my heart rocket to the sky. "I won't leave your side again Tim..." I said softly.
"You better not." I felt myself smile. This new happy feeling inside of me... It blossomed like a flower and made me cherish it's wonderful presence. What was this feeling? Was this perhaps a crush? On another guy? But… I wasn't allowed… I knew I wasn't allowed… I slipped off my gloves putting them in the pockets of my pants, then I put a palm to the smooth skin of Tim's forehead, it was hot… Blistering hot… I stood up and walked over to the small closet in our apartment, and I took out a facecloth.
I made my way over to the kitchen sink and wet the cloth in cold water. Then I walked back over to Tim with the dripping wet cloth in my hands, I could feel the cold water tickle my skin gently as the sound of pitterpatering water droplets sounded in my ears when drops hit the carpeted floors.
I walked over to his exhausted form as his arms and legs drooped over the edges (well it WAS a small couch and he was pretty tall, at least 5'9 ) When I reached him, I gently used my fingertips to brush his chocolate colored hair behind his ears revealing his beautiful face, those dark, thick eyelashes that curved upwards, beautifully and perfectly pointed to the ceiling, his lips were so full and vulnerable… So… Kissable…. Fuck….. No. No. No. No. No. No. NO. STAP IT MIND! I shook my head, attempting to clear my thoughts.
I gently lay the cloth over his forehead in hoping that I could lower his temperature. I then looked at his peaceful sleeping face, his lips moved a bit like they were forming words.
"sh…..Shut….. Shut up Nurse….." He mumbled in his sleep. The fuck? What did this boy dream of? I felt myself chuckle slightly.
"Strange boy…" I murmured, a smile playing on my lips. I knew I'd have to take care of him until he was back on his feet again. I guess I'd be playing nurse for a few days.
Chapter 4: No Success
(Brian's POV)
It had been a few days since I came back to Tim. I still had my mission in mind. I had to convince Tim to become a proxy... but how... He wouldn't want to… he was always stubborn about stuff like this… God how would I do this? I only had two weeks. And it had already been almost a week. This... was harder than I thought. I could sense master watching me, seeing my progress in my mission. All he was seeing was me nursing my Best friend, possibly my crush… God what was wrong with my life!? Or right, I turned it over to Slender man... I had to do this quickly. I only had a short time left. I only had one and a half weeks later. God I hope I can get Tim to join by then or I'm in for one hell of a work week.
"Hey Tim... have you ever thought about looking for a job?" I asked slowly one day at breakfast. He looked up from his bowl of cereal, swallowing his cheerios.
"No. Not really." He said after he licked his lips free of honeyd milk from his cereal.
"Cause... I found this really good job that both of us can do. I'm already a worker, you wanna come too?" I asked.
"Well what is it?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's... uh... like... working with camera's and stuff.. You're really good at editing footage and camera stuff so..." I said slowly.
"What company is it?" He asked.
"I don't remember the name." I said at once. "It's like in a different language and you know how bad my memory is."
"Uhuh…" Tim said slowly, arching his eyebrow, giving me a look that said he didn't believe me.
"What? My memory is terrible. You know that." I pouted slightly.
"Not that terrible that you can't remember the place you work at," he pointed out.
"It's in a different language." I said indignantly.
"So you still would remember it," Tim huffed, rolling his brown eyes, and crossing his arms over his chest. I sighed with a slight roll of my eyes, dropping the subject. This obviously wasn't going anywhere... I realized how hard this was going to be. I finished breakfast and stood, putting my plate in the sink. How the hell was I gonna do this... I was getting a bit distressed...What if I didn't get the job done? What would master do to me?
Though I don't know how, Tim always seemed to know when I was sad or distressed and always had a way to make me smile.
"Oh Briaaaan, fetch my plate like a good nurse would ya?" He asked with a smirk, leaning back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head and placing his feet on the table. I rolled my eyes.
"Alright. Alright." I said, bringing his plate over to him. "Anything else?" He thought for a moment, tapping his bottom lip with his index finger.
"Nah," he smirked.
"Wonderful." I smiled slightly, plopping down beside him. He stretched and pat me on the head with a smile, I could feel his fingertips playing with strands of my shaggy raven hair. I smiled slightly, enjoying the feeling. It was relaxing.
(TimeSkip 2 weeks)
(Tim's POV)
Brian had been trying to convince me to take a job at his workplace that he 'Can't remember the name of' though I wondered why he hadn't gone to work at all in these two weeks. When I tried to ask him this, he avoided the subject or said 'I got some time off.' Being his best friend since we were little, I could always tell when he was lying to me or hiding something. And he was definitely hiding something. He kept looking out the window as if he was sure someone was out there. Sometimes I heard him muttering under his breath. Stuff like, 'I'm working on it.' or 'Just a little more time.' I never asked him about this, seeing as I knew he wouldn't answer my questions. But as time went on, he began acting more and more nervous for some reason. Then one day… He disappeared again… I had even searched for him in Rosswoods again, but I never found him… Just some paper, but I didn't do anything about those… I didn't care about them… I wanted my Brian back! Why did he disappear again?! I'd just got him back! I looked for him for days on end, even going out in the cold rainy weather to search for him. I thought about him all the time. Where was he? Is he hurt? Did someone take him away? Is he starving? Is he in a hospital? Has he been kidnapped, and is waiting for me to rescue him? Was this the reason why he had been so nervous for the past few days? Had he known this was going to happen? Where was he... where was my best friend…
I felt tears slip down my cheeks. Agony gripped my heart… It wasn't physical pain… It was emotional pain… The grief of my loss of him was a hand, clenching my heart tightly, refusing to release it until I found Brian… My Brian. What was this feeling? Why did I yearn to find him so much... Why did my heart cry out in agony every time I thought of him? What was this? It couldn't be... it couldn't be... love... could it? Am I possibly gay? No… I thought I was straight… . But what I was feeling wasn't a worry you'd feel for a friend... and besides, it was Brian. It wouldn't be that bad to be gay if it was him… I'd go gay for him… I know I would… I mean he's pretty attractive... Yeah... I was sure of it. I was in love with Brian. I loved him… I wanted him… I wanted to find him so badly…
And when I do find him… If I find him… I will take cup his face with my hands and kiss him on his full, perfect lips and I will tell him that I love him. Cause I can.
Days turned to weeks, and I still couldn't find him. I was beginning to lose hope. The feeling of being watched was growing and the nightmares increased, not helping my current emotional state. I-I needed Brian back… I wanted him back… I wanted his comfort, I wanted him to hug me and pet my hair, tell me everything would be alright. I began drinking to drown the pain. It was unbearable without Brian with me. Everything was awful. I couldn't… I wanted to end it...
Chapter 5: Shattered Glass
(Tim's POV)
After a few weeks, I began seeing them. The two people watching me. The faceless man and the hooded boy with the black mask. Were these… Who Brian was talking about? He had never talked about the boy with the black mask before… Only the faceless man… But… I… I didn't like it… I wanted Brian… I wished I could have him but… I knew there was no chance that I'd ever have him back... It was the masked boy that I saw mostly. He'd be sitting in a tree or leaning against a wall. But he'd always be watching me... It felt odd… Not with dangerous intent like the faceless man… But more… I don't know… Different... But I felt like they wanted something from me... I didn't know what, but I didn't want to give it to them.
I awoke to a slight breeze in my room, brushing my skin causing goosebumps to run up my arm, and a shiver to run down my spine. I opened my eyes slightly, closing them again when I saw who was in my room. The masked boy was sitting on my dresser, swinging his legs slightly and watching me. I jumped awake, sitting up immediately, my heart pounded in my chest. We looked at each other for a moment. He tilted his head slightly and waved. Who the hell was this and why was he in my room. I raised my hand ever so slightly and waved back. I was quite confused. The boy continued to look at me. Then he pulled out a piece of paper and a sharpie and began writing. I looked over at him curiously. A familiar aura was around him. I felt like I should know him... The boy showed me the paper. 'Master wants you to join him' was written in messy handwriting on in.
Anger and defiance flared in me "hell no!" I snarled. The boy's shoulders slumped slightly. He began writing again. 'You'll die if you don't... the sickness will get to you and you will die.' "Why should I care!? The one person who I cared about most in the world is gone! I don't need to live!" I snarled, feeling tears fall down my cheeks as I thought of Brian. The boy stared at him for a long time. 'Brian is not dead... he is alive and you will see him again.' He wrote. "You're lying!" I snarled getting out of bed, tears in my eyes. 'I'm not. You will see him again.' "Who the hell are you?" I snapped. The boy crumpled up the paper, throwing it away.
"I am Hoodie." He said in a slightly robotic sounding voice. But the voice was familiar. I stood up and walked over to him, feeling the carpet beneath my feet. He looked down at me from his perch on my dresser, his head tilted curiously. I reached to take his mask from his face, it had two red dots for eyes and a red frown. Right before my hand touched his mask, his black gloved hand caught my wrist in an iron grip. "Don't." He said softly. I grabbed his wrist and pulled him down from the perch and went for it with my other hand. His other hand grabbed my wrist. "You can't. Not until you join master." I twisted my wrists so that I had his wrists. Hoodie pulled out of my grip, moving away from me. But I pursued him. I wanted, no needed to know who this man was. Without warning, he turned and began running out of the room. I ran after him he was fast… But I could still catch up to him. I caught up to him in the living room, catching him. But he escaped from my grasp again, heading for the window. I ran after him, I went to grab him, but before I could, I felt my stomach lurch as I tripped on my own foot and I fell, my hands pressing against his back, I felt him slip out of my grasp and I saw him crash through the glass of the window. I got up quickly and looked through, seeing him hit the ground. Shattered glass was spread around him, the shards cutting into his unmoving body.
I needed to see who this was... I quickly pulled on my jacket and sneakers, running out of my apartment and heading outside. I walked up to Hoodie's body, kneeling down beside him. He wasn't moving… Was he dead? I grasped his mask and removed it. Perfect full lips were ever so slightly open, a small nose pointed upwards ever so slightly, his face was pale and had the look of porcelain. Black hair fell in front of his face. My eyes widened, my hands dropping the mask. Brian...?
"No… NO! Brian!" I cried, tears running down my cheeks, my heart cracked in half and disintegrated and I lifted his limp body into my arms and hugged him close. His body was limp in my arms. What have I done?! "I'm so sorry Brian…" I croaked, hugging him to my chest. Emotions swam in my mind. Grief, confusion, regret. Why…. WHY! I cried mentally… I wished I hadn't went for his mask. This was all my fault... all my fault... I looked up slightly, seeing the faceless man in the distance. Why had Brian been with him... was this the 'master' he had been referring to? I held him closer. I couldn't keep staring at the faceless man... the more I did, the more my head hurt. The more blurry my vision became. "I'll join you… Just save Brian…" I whispered to him. Then... everything went black.
Chapter 6: The Truth
(Tim's POV)
When I awoke… I was in a bed… Not my own… In fact, I had no idea of where I was, all I know is this place was abandoned, the wall paper was torn and drooping from the walls and the flooring was stained with mysterious liquids, probably some kind of sewage or alcohol. I looked around
in bleary confusion. Where the bloody hell am I?
"H-hello?" I called, sitting up on the mattress.
"I see you're finally awake." A voice that seemed to echo in my mind said. I turned my head to the door, gasping softly when I saw the faceless man. I back up against the wall.
"Who are you!?" I asked frantically.
"I am known as Slender Man." The man replied.
"Where am I? What do you want with me?" I asked, pressing myself against the wall.
"You are my proxy, you agreed to become my proxy if I saved Hoodie. And you are in my woods in a cabin I keep for new proxies so the rest of the pastas won't kill you while you're asleep" he explained. I blinked at him in surprise.
"Uh... okay..." I said slowly.
"Now, I will be leaving you here for a few days with Hoodie so he can explain what it is to be proxy. I would tell you myself, but there seems to be a…. situation… That I need to handle." he said.
"o-okay." I nodded, trying to slow my heart rate. Suddenly, a familiar head peaked in.
"I-Is h-he awake m-master?" BRIAN! HE'S ALIVE! Joy flooded through me.
"Yes Hoodie. Now I must leave. Take care of him." The tall faceless man told my Brian.
"Y-yes master." Hoodie nodded, walking fully into the room.
"I'll be back in a few days." Slender Man said before leaving. Hoodie watched him leave then, once the faceless man was gone, he ran to me and glomped me tightly. I hugged him tightly feeling my tears of joy fall down my cheeks.
"Oh Brian!" I cried happily. He tightened his grip on me.
"Do me a favor Tim..." He said softly. "Next time I run, don't try to catch me. My neck still hurts from that fall." He looked up, pulling his mask off so I could see him pouting slightly. I smiled and nodded, I looked deep into those beautiful eyes. "Oh! I have something for you." He said suddenly, pulling something out of his pocket. "Here." I took it from him, seeing that it was a white mask with black eyes and lips. I set it down, and I cupped his face with my hands before I pressed my lips against his closing my eyes tightly. His emerald eyes widened slightly, then closed as he kissed me back. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my heart floated and pounded at the same time, a feeling I couldn't understand drove me to pull him closer, I had missed him so much... We pulled back after a while, still hugging each other close.
"Brian… I… I love you Brian…" I breathed.
"I... I love you too Tim..." He said softly, looking up at me with a blush on his pale cheeks. I smiled and kissed him again on his perfect lips, my heart fluttering with joy. I felt his plump lips caress my own, his soft skin was warm… I loved him so much... We stayed like this for a few more minutes, before he pulled back from me. "We have to keep this a secret... no one can know about this Tim." He said softly.
"What? Why?" I asked in confusion.
"Master doesn't let his proxies have relationships. We can't let him know or we'll be in really big trouble." Brian said, his fingers gripping my hand tightly. I nodded, I could see how much this meant to him by looking in those perfect green eyes. I nodded slightly.
"Okay... we'll keep it a secret." I assured him. He let out a sigh of relief, I felt him loosen his grip on my hand a bit in relief. He stood, helping me to my feet.
"We should get to work now. You have a lot to learn and only a few days to learn it." Brian said, pulling his mask and hood back on. I nodded and held his hand, honestly all I wanted to do was hug and snuggle him and kiss him, tell him how much he meant to me, but this is much better than him being dead. He took the mask I put to the side and offered it to me. "You have to put it on. You're lucky... my vision is all red and you get clear view." I could clearly tell by his tone that he was pouting again.
"I wish I could see your pouty face, you have no idea how cute you are when you pout," I purred, my happy spunky move returning to me. His head lowered slightly.
"I'm not cute..." He murmured timidly. I chuckled softly, he was especially cute when in denial
"Oh yes you are Brian, you're as cute as a chocolate lab puppy with a tophat," I mused, cupping his cheeks with my palms, despite his mask, I could still feel his warmth through the black cloth. I felt his cheeks heat up. He was blushing. I chuckled softly. I kissed where his lips were gently I saw a strand of black hair that poked out from beneath his mask, gently I brushed it beneath his hoodie with my fingertips. I then pulled my own mask over my face. "Well then. Let's get started."
Over the next few days, Brian drilled me on what I had to do to be a proxy. He made me memorize something called the proxy pledge and taught me everything I had to know. And boy did I hate it… But… I did it for Brian... He also began telling me about the residents at Slender Man's mansion.
"I haven't really been there yet, but master told me about everyone I had to watch out for." He told me. And man... these people sounded nuts. Apparently, the ones we especially had to watch out for were Jeff the Killer, Eyeless Jack, and Laughing Jack. "Oh yeah, and don't play Majora's mask… Ben drowned comes out of that one… And he's psychopathic too as far as I know." He added.
"Right then... we're gonna live with psychopaths... fun." I said sarcastically.
"Ya…" He sighed.
"Anyway... when's Slender supposed to get here?" I asked boredly, leaning my head back. Brian shrugged.
"He said he was coming back today..." He said softly. "He should be coming here soon," Brian sighed.
I only nodded, I knew I couldn't hug or snuggle him because if I did, and Slenderman came… We were SO DEAD. So I couldn't make any physical contact to him besides friendly friend contact. Suddenly, Brian perked up.
"He's here." He said, hopping down from our perch on a tree branch. I jumped down too, though I didn't see him anywhere... I trusted Brian's opinion and followed him. Soon enough, the faceless man came into view, standing in the middle of two trees, waiting. "Hello Master," Brian greeted the Slender man. I nodded, not really willing to call him 'master' just yet.
"Did you tell my new proxy, what it is to be a proxy?" Slender asked. Hoodie nodded.
"Yes Master. I did." He said.
"Good," Slender said. "His new name shall be Masky." Masky? Well... suppose that's fitting since I'm wearing a mask. "Now then. We have to go back home." He said, before turning and walking away. Hoodie and I followed him quickly. We looked at each other, we hadn't been to this home yet, well at least I was pretty sure Hoodie hadn't been there before. After a while, we reached a very large mansion.
"Woah." I whispered. It looked old as crap and like something from an old horror novel. Slender Man opened the door, entering the mansion with us close at hand. It was quite impressing on the inside. But… I was also a bit scared… I saw people… No… Creatures with cut faces, bloodied clothing eyes, jagged teeth and disturbing features. I felt Brian tremble slightly beside me. It was clear he was trying to keep down his fear.
"Who the hell are these two?" A pale faced teenager with a carved smile asked, pointing a knife in our direction.
"My new proxies. Hoodie, and Masky," He said gesturing to them.
"I bet they have wonderful kidneys." A man in a blue mask said, cleaning a scalpel as he talked. I glared at the man.
"No." Slender said sternly.
"Dammit..." the man in the blue mask muttered. Hoodie sighed in relief. I would have told him that I'd protect him if Slendy wasn't there.
"So. We have to put up with them now?" A man with a strange pointed nose and strange black and white clothing. The tall man sighed exasperatedly.
"Yes…" He said. The monochrome man shrugged.
"As long as they don't bother me I'm cool with it." He shrugged.
"Jeff, their room is down at the end of the east hall, show them to their room" He said.
"Why do I have to do it?" Jeff asked.
"Because you're already here and you've known this place the longest, besides myself of course," Slender said. Jeff groaned.
"Fine..." He muttered, standing while twirling his knife in his fingers. "C'mon. Follow me." He grumbled. We nodded and followed him. He led us through the many hallways until he reached a door with a mark that looked like a giant red circle with an X through it.
"That's Slender's symbol," Hoodie explained to me.
"This is your room." Jeff said, walking away. Though he stopped suddenly and looked back at us. "Here's a warning little proxies. Don't get on anyone's bad side. Don't leave your room at night. And don't do anything stupid. There are a lot of ways you can die here." And with that, he walked away.
Brian and I locked gazes. We knew… This was going to be hard…
Chapter 7: If Only We Had Less Work
(Hoodie's POV)
I finished sorting all of Slender's paperwork with a sigh of relief, looking up at Masky who was sweeping the room.
"Hey, Masky, wanna do something when we're done with work?" I asked him, I really needed a break to just to get some time off or something...
"If Slender doesn't have anything else for us to," Masky looked up at me. "Sure." I could tell he was smiling slightly beneath his mask. I had gotten good at reading his expressions through his tone. I assumed that he had too.
"Maybe we can get Slender to give us some money so we can go to the cheesecake factory or something," I offered, smiling beneath my mask.
"That. Would be amazing." Masky said. "I haven't had cheesecake in forever."
"I know right," I mused. I wanted us to go on our first date, even if it was in secret, it would be great. But Slender Man seemed keen on giving us as much work as humanly possible. Masky and I had been busy day and night for the few weeks we've been here. Maybe he knew we loved each other… Or maybe this was just coincidental. But thanks to him, the only time we got was when we went to bed but we were so exhausted that we simply fell asleep before we could do anything.
"Let's go ask him now!" Masky said happily. He leaned the broom against the wall and the two of us rushed out. We ran down the stairs to find Slender. He was in the living room, scolding Jeff and BEN for doing something.
"Master," I spoke to get his attention. He turned to us, pausing mid sentence.
"Yes?" He asked.
"We finished our chores, can go to the cheesecake factory?" We asked hopefully. For some reason, BEN and Jeff burst out laughing at the question. Slender hushed them sternly before turning to us.
"I'm afraid that's a no. You two aren't allowed to leave my forest unless you are sent on a mission." He replied. We looked at eachother then looked down sadly. "But..." We looked up at him. "If you two really want some cheesecake, I will get some for you later." We nodded somberly wishing we could at least go somewhere fun… I wanted to have a first date with Masky… If only that were possible... But we were stuck here until we were sent out on missions.
"Can we at least take a walk?" Masky asked softly.
"As long as you stay in the boundaries of the forest." Slender Man nodded. The two of us nodded and headed out of the door, I could hear BEN and Jeff snickering behind us, but I didn't know why. We walked out in the forest. Masky sighed softly, moving his mask slightly so it revealed his mouth.
"God, this mask is stuffy" Masky sighed. "You're lucky your mask is thin cloth." I shrugged slightly.
"I guess, it still is a bit stuffy and it irritates my nose," I said.
"At least you can breath." Masky chuckled.
"True," I smiled.
"It's a nice day..." he breathed in the fresh air. I looked around with a smile, light seeped through the thick coverage of the trees, flowers and lush grass bloomed throughout the forest, and the air wasn't too hot or too cold, there was a slight breeze that gave it a nice temperature.
"Ya… It is," I smiled, inhaling the fresh air happily.
"I haven't seen anything but forest in weeks though... I wish we could go outside into the normal world." Masky sighed wistfully.
"Same here…" I sighed thinking sadly of how we could be at the cheesecake factory.
"At least Slender said that he'd get us cheesecake." He shrugged.
"I guess…" I muttered. I guess we'd have to wait for a mission to have our first date. "Hey. Let's climb into a tree. It's fun up there." I said suddenly.
"Okay!" Masky said, his lips formed into a grin. I got a running start, jumped and swung myself into a tree. I felt my muscles strain as I pulled myself up each branch, using my feet to hoist me up. I sat on the tree branch, swinging my legs happily. Masky soon reached my branch panting and sat.
"I like it up here." I said, leaning my head on Masky's shoulder.
"I do too Brian," He whispered, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me closer, leaning against the trunk, I could feel his warmth through his jacket.
"We haven't used our real names in a long time..." I sighed softly.
"I know... " He sighed softly. We had been called Masky and Hoodie for weeks now, I'd almost forgotten my name was Brian… Maybe we should call each other by our names more often, maybe we'd remember our names. But just in private. We weren't really Tim and Brian anymore... we were Masky and Hoodie. But. When we were alone with each other. We were Tim and Brian. We were lovers. And nobody, not even Slender... could take that away from us.
"I wish we could stay like this forever..." I whispered.
"I do too Brian…" He whispered. I felt his lips kiss my forehead. I smiled slightly and hugged his waist. I rested my cheek on his chest, feeling the thuds of his heartbeats against my ear. Suddenly, both of us perked up. Slender was calling… I looked at him sadly, I wish we could have just had longer. "Damn it..." Masky sighed, pulling his mask fully back on. "Well. Let's go before he gets pissed."
"Ya…" I sighed. We jumped down from the tree, heading back to the mansion. I walked slowly, holding Masky's gloved hand within mine. I leaned my head on his shoulder, wanting to savor this a little longer. I felt him rest the side of his head on mine as we walked. We soon were forced to separate when we came to the mansion. Masky readjusted his mask so it covered his mouth again. We walked into the mansion, seeing Slender Man waiting.
"Yes master?" We asked.
"I have a mission for you two." He said. We nodded and waited for him to continue. He took a file from his jacket and handed it to us. "Here's the victims file," he said. We nodded. "You have until the end of the week to complete it."
"Yes sir." We said in unison, nodding. Then we headed for the doors and looked over the file together.
"We have to kill a girl looking into the mystery of Slender Man." Masky said. "Apparently, she knows a bit too much."
"Kay, this should be easy, I mean she's only a human," I said with a shrug.
"Yeah. We'll be done before we know it." Masky said with a chuckled. "And if we get it done with in less than a week," his voice grew quieter into a whisper "we can go on our first date," he purred. I grinned happily under my mask.
"Awesome." I said happily.
"So lets hurry up and get this over with," he chuckled. I nodded.
(Timeskip: 4 days)
(Masky's pov)
Silently, we crept towards a white house, pale moonlight barely revealed our figures as we lay hidden in the brush. There was an open window on the bottom floor, some loud voices coming through it.
"He's real I tell you! I've got proof!" A female voice shouted.
"He does NOT exist! You're just delusional!" A husky male voice yelled back.
"I'm not delusional! I SAW him!" The female voice argued. "He shorted out my damn camera! I have endless proof that he is real!"
"Ya right, just do your homework, and stop wasting time with this nonsense!" The man's voice replied.
"It's not nonsense dad! Slender Man is real!" The girl cried.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night," the man sighed. We heard the girl groan in exasperation. I looked at Hoodie, and we exchanged, what the hell glances, then we crept closer to the building. We heard the door close and the girl sigh. We were under the window now, waiting for our chance. I silently wondered how long we'd have to wait for her to fall asleep… Turned out, we didn't have to wait long. About 20 minutes later, the lights turned off everywhere in the house, including the girl's room. Me and Hoodie had agreed that I'd be the one to erase all computer memory and anything that had information on Slender since I was better at computer tech than him and he was trained longer in combat than me. So he would be murdering her.
"I haven't had to murder anyone yet..." Hoodie gulped softly as we climbed into the room
"If you want I will," I whispered, looking at him, I would never want to force him to do anything that he didn't want to do.
He shook his head. "N-no... I'll do it. It's my job. I have to." He said, pulling out his pistol.
"Also you might want to use a knife… Pistols are loud It'll give me less time to delete all the files and data of Slender," I suggested.
"I'll do it after you delete everything. Pistols are quicker and less messy." He said, twirling the pistol around his finger. I nodded.
"Just be careful alright? And warn me if she starts to wake up," I said as I took her camera and the disks to it from her desk and put them in my backpack before I started hacking onto her computer. He nodded, waiting for me to finish, finally I hacked into her files and began deleting all those about Slender. And damn did this girl have a lot. I accidently clicked on a file and fell backwards out of the chair when I saw the image on the screen, it was disturbing and fangirl ish….. It disturbed me greatly. Hoodie saw it too.
"Jesus..." He murmured. "What in the hell...?" I quickly got rid of it.
"Never getting that image out of my head," I said.
"Same here..." He shuddered. It had been a picture of Offenderman with a snake and oh god it was both terrifying and disturbing. "This kid is messed up..." Hoodie said softly.
"No shit…" I whispered, the mental scarring was like a nightmare replaying OVER and OVER
and OVER again in my head. I continued deleting the data on the computer, and god did this girl have a lot of data about Slenderman.
But eventually I was able to delete EVERYTHING from all of her camera's and her computer. I sighed in relief, shutting off the computer.
"Done. Finally." I muttered. Hoodie nodded, pointing his pistol at the girl's head. My fingers were cramped up from all the typing, and they throbbed painfully, but I still managed to re-open the window that we had had to close because of how cold it was outside, we hadn't wanted to awaken her with the cold. Hoodie took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. I found myself flinch from the noise, then I could hear voices, panicked voices, I looked over at Hoodie, he was stiff as a pencil, glued in his spot, and though I could not see his face, I could tell in an instant, that his eyes were wide.
I grabbed his arm and pulled him out the window, picking him up and running with him. His weight was a bit hard to carry, but I managed to run through the woods, feeling the earth being pounded beneath my feet, I could feel the harsh winds tug at our hoodies.
I found it rather hard to see in the darkness that surrounded me, especially because of the mask that covered my face, not allowing me to use my peripheral vision. But as soon as I was sure we were far enough, I slowed to a stop, panting.
My throat and lungs burned from all the strain I had to put on them, I felt like I had run a marathon…
I turned my attention to Hoodie who still lay in my shaky arms, he was too heavy for me to hold anymore, so I gently, and shakily set him down on the ground, my knees feeling so frail, and feeling as if they'd snap. I gently put Hoodie down and leaned against a tree, panting heavily.
Beads of sweat slid down my forehead and temple, I closed my eyes trying to find some resolve against my exhaustion, I knew we had to keep going, find a hotel or something. But Hoodie seemed to be frozen with disbelief of what he'd just done.
Once I had regained my breath, I kneeled beside his huddled form and wrapped my arms around his body and hugged him close to my chest.
"It's alright Brian…" I whispered, though honestly surprised I still remembered his name.
"But... But I just..." He trailed off.
"I know… I know baby…" I whispered, trying my best at a soothing tone. "It's our job… You won't have to do it again… I can do it for you… I promise..." I whispered.
"He... he might send us... on separate missions... no way I can avoid d-doing it a-again..."
"We're partners… He doesn't separate partners… You know that…" I whispered, my fingers tenderly lifting the base of his cloth mask up so I could see his perfect, full lips.
I leaned forwards and brushed my lips against his reassuringly. He hugged me tightly, his arms trembling slightly. I rested a hand on his back and rubbed through soothing circles, I could feel the warmth of his body beneath my black glove. Hoodie leaned his head on my shoulder, taking deep breaths.
"Don't worry..." I murmured. "We'll handle this… Together…"