p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Author's Note: So things are looking kinda grim. Don't worry, cuteness eventually ensues! Well also bloodshed but we can ignore that for now. Felt like Jeff deserved some more attention and a chapter of his own, so here you go. Glad I have a few chapters saved up and already written. Between finals and Mother's Day and GRRR all my trouble with the Laughing Jack chapter... that one is gonna take me some time. The beginning of the "shit hits the fan" part is separate though so I can still post that. I just post new chapters once at least one person has read the most recent one ;)/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"*Looking at this the next day I'm so tempted to scrap this chapter I'm working on. I just rewrote half of it. Maybe I can make it work but I think I dug myself into a hole. But wow, you guys doubled my views in two days! Up to 45, hell yeah./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"*Recent major updates have been done to make this chapter overall less... weird. My apologies to anyone who read the original version./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"Jeff/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Slender's final words left Melanie with a bitter taste in her mouth as she returned to the second floor of the house. This was not a decision she wanted to make right now nor all at once. It had been less than an hour since she had spoken with Toby, so she decided to take another look at Jane's notes. Something about them wasn't adding up. She heard sounds of life from several rooms and took care not to alert anyone to her presence. For now she wanted to be left alone./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Melanie settled into the wooden chair at her desk and pulled out the pile of papers she had reserved for a second look. All were dated. Many of them were conflicting, and the difference in motives seemed only to increase as the date drew nearer to what Melanie had concluded was very close to the day she died. Melanie's heart leapt into her throat as she unfolded a scrap of paper, dated at least half a year before Jane came to the house. On it Jane was brainstorming ways to kill someone. All of them were vicious and slow. She threw it onto the desk and snatched up another one. It was a family photo with all faces but hers blacked out. Had she killed her family? It was dated slightly before the last paper. None of this made any sense.../p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Countless notes hastily scrawled on everything from napkins to coffee filters built a picture of this girl's plan to- no, not kill her family. This was revenge. Dozens upon dozens of notes relating to torture accumulated in a pile to her left. She slowly uncovered a picture of a boy with his right arm slung around a boy similar in looks. The second boy's face was also crossed out. The first boy was circled. Melanie stared at the face, trying to put some significance to it. With the hair longer and more uneven, paler skin and... scars- her heart skipped a beat. It was Jeff./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"So Jeff had killed her family? Then why were there letters addressed to her mother from after the incident? Melanie spent another solid hour going through notes before she found her answer. The drawer was filled from top to bottom with papers and it was tedious to sort through them. One damning letter, stapled together and spanning several pieces of lined paper filled in the holes in Jane's story. She had altered her appearance as much as possible before arriving at the house, pretending to be someone else. All along she had planned to kill Jeff. She started writing letters to her mother as though she was still alive, and wrote the responses too to pretend that she was still alive and warning her. Though she was arrogant enough to use the same name, Jeff appeared not to notice or care that this was the same girl whose life he had ruined./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"As the months went by and she could not find her opportunity she began to grow desperate. Her last plan to make a move was to pretend to befriend Jeff in order to get closer to him. The note ended with her remarking that she needed to move quickly as he was beginning to suspect something./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Melanie leaned back and exhaled shakily. If all this was true, Jeff may have senselessly murdered this girl's family so long ago, but perhaps he did not do the same to her. Or, at least, it looked like it was possible that it was self defense. Why did no one know the truth about who she really was? That she was just as bad if not worse than anyone here?/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"A knock sounded at her open door. Hoping that this visitor was Toby, she turned around only to have the smile wiped from her face. Jeff was leaning against her door frame./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;""I was just heading over to the library when I saw you going through her papers," he began./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;""Why didn't you tell me?" she asked before he could say more./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Jeff's ghostly eyes went wide. "They wouldn't believe I knew it was her. She'd sold her soul. She was one of us. I decided to let her live out the rest of her life in whatever peace she could find. Jane had other plans. It was easier to just let people believe whatever fit their image of me. Jeff the Killer showing someone mercy? Fighting in only self-defense? That would go over well with the press, don't you think?" he asked. The usual rabid look in his eyes had softened. He still had that damn perpetual smile sliced into his face, but she knew there were things he was leaving out./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;""But this isn't right! She lied to everyone! They deserve to know what happened. It is... beyond fucked up... what you did to her family," Melanie said. She was struggling for words that would strike the balance between not getting her killed and not being forgiving of an undead serial killer. "But the things she was planning? I read her notes. I'm sure you have too, by now. The things that went on in her head? I doubt that all started up all of a sudden just recently. I have no doubts she would have become a monster even if her family was still alive. She deserved what she got. I think... I think you weren't the first person she went after. So, why cover this up? Why hide it from them?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Jeff pawed at the floor with his shoe and avoided her gaze. "She was beautiful. Charming. She won over everyone here. They thought that finally there might be a housemate who could lighten the place up. If they knew back then, if they knew what she was, they would have lost all hope that there were good people left. That good people could be around people like us. I didn't do it so that bitch could save face. I did it for them. Now that you're here I don't think it matters anymore. Don't let all that stuff on those notes get to your head though: I'm still plenty messed up," he insisted./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;""I don't know if I'm necessarily a good person. I think I can be whatever I need to be in different situations. Besides, I don't judge people for sins I've committed too," she said, hardly above a whisper./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Jeff stifled a small gasp and tilted his head to the side, waiting to see if the strange new girl would reveal more of this hidden backstory. Melanie continued, deciding to let that topic drop for now. It wasn't anything they needed to know about in detail. Just that she wasn't some angel that needed protecting. "And please, not this speech again. I just heard it from Toby. About an hour ago he just gave me the whole 'we're too screwed up for you, you'll just get hurt, don't get used to it here' speech. A lot's happened since I got here. I think I know what I'm in for. I mean... I've seen some shit in the last two days! After literally dying, I was pulled back to the world of the living by Slender Man! Of all people! Wait, no not even a people! Pretty sure? It's just... if I'm going to be stuck here for some indefinite amount of time, I don't want to feel stuck. I want to live, I want to not be miserable, and I want to have friends. Even if those friends eat kidneys or live in TVs," she said. At this a tiny smile made its way up Jeff's face: a genuine one this time./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;""So no more secrets?" she asked. He looked up, confused. "I know that's how this place works, but it doesn't seem to be treating anyone well. Think we can be... friends? On the promise you won't kill me?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Last week Melanie would have pinched herself at this offer thinking she would have to be dreaming to ask something so ridiculous. If she was going to survive though, the health of her heart was just as important as her body. She didn't want to wind up like Jane writing to herself to stay sane. Besides, it would put him in a position where it would at least be a little more... awkward emotionally if he decided to end her time on this earthly plane./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Jeff struggled for something to say as Melanie stood up. She took a slow breath and steadied her emotions. "Today is too sunny of a day to stay hunched over that desk. Later on, maybe we could have a gaming tournament?"/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;""Sounds great," he responded hesitantly. She stopped in front of him in the doorway. His shoulders were hunched and he was looking everywhere but at her. Was he... ashamed? Jeff the Killer, ashamed of killing a murderer. What a strange place this was. Goodness, and she thought she was messed up at times. If there was anything she knew, it was how much effort people like them went through to hide everything. No matter who they were around. Around normal people? Hide your demons. Pretend everything is sunshine and rainbows. Around fucked up people? Hide all your emotions. Bottle that shit up. Don't say a word. Always, always that silent fight. Looking at his bloodshot, lidless eyes, she knew he was feeling what she felt every day since junior year. She shook her head and wondered if all these spontaneous decisions to try to unfuck the world around her weren't going to get her in trouble after all as she wrapped her arms around Jeff. Immediately he went as rigid as concrete. When Melanie let go he was looking at her curiously as though he was just seeing her for the first time. She just smiled sadly and stepped into the hallway./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"*Looking at this the next day I'm so tempted to scrap this chapter I'm working on. I just rewrote half of it. Maybe I can make it work but I think I dug myself into a hole. But wow, you guys doubled my views in two days! Up to 45, hell yeah./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"*Recent major updates have been done to make this chapter overall less... weird. My apologies to anyone who read the original version./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"Jeff/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Slender's final words left Melanie with a bitter taste in her mouth as she returned to the second floor of the house. This was not a decision she wanted to make right now nor all at once. It had been less than an hour since she had spoken with Toby, so she decided to take another look at Jane's notes. Something about them wasn't adding up. She heard sounds of life from several rooms and took care not to alert anyone to her presence. For now she wanted to be left alone./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Melanie settled into the wooden chair at her desk and pulled out the pile of papers she had reserved for a second look. All were dated. Many of them were conflicting, and the difference in motives seemed only to increase as the date drew nearer to what Melanie had concluded was very close to the day she died. Melanie's heart leapt into her throat as she unfolded a scrap of paper, dated at least half a year before Jane came to the house. On it Jane was brainstorming ways to kill someone. All of them were vicious and slow. She threw it onto the desk and snatched up another one. It was a family photo with all faces but hers blacked out. Had she killed her family? It was dated slightly before the last paper. None of this made any sense.../p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Countless notes hastily scrawled on everything from napkins to coffee filters built a picture of this girl's plan to- no, not kill her family. This was revenge. Dozens upon dozens of notes relating to torture accumulated in a pile to her left. She slowly uncovered a picture of a boy with his right arm slung around a boy similar in looks. The second boy's face was also crossed out. The first boy was circled. Melanie stared at the face, trying to put some significance to it. With the hair longer and more uneven, paler skin and... scars- her heart skipped a beat. It was Jeff./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"So Jeff had killed her family? Then why were there letters addressed to her mother from after the incident? Melanie spent another solid hour going through notes before she found her answer. The drawer was filled from top to bottom with papers and it was tedious to sort through them. One damning letter, stapled together and spanning several pieces of lined paper filled in the holes in Jane's story. She had altered her appearance as much as possible before arriving at the house, pretending to be someone else. All along she had planned to kill Jeff. She started writing letters to her mother as though she was still alive, and wrote the responses too to pretend that she was still alive and warning her. Though she was arrogant enough to use the same name, Jeff appeared not to notice or care that this was the same girl whose life he had ruined./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"As the months went by and she could not find her opportunity she began to grow desperate. Her last plan to make a move was to pretend to befriend Jeff in order to get closer to him. The note ended with her remarking that she needed to move quickly as he was beginning to suspect something./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Melanie leaned back and exhaled shakily. If all this was true, Jeff may have senselessly murdered this girl's family so long ago, but perhaps he did not do the same to her. Or, at least, it looked like it was possible that it was self defense. Why did no one know the truth about who she really was? That she was just as bad if not worse than anyone here?/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"A knock sounded at her open door. Hoping that this visitor was Toby, she turned around only to have the smile wiped from her face. Jeff was leaning against her door frame./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;""I was just heading over to the library when I saw you going through her papers," he began./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;""Why didn't you tell me?" she asked before he could say more./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Jeff's ghostly eyes went wide. "They wouldn't believe I knew it was her. She'd sold her soul. She was one of us. I decided to let her live out the rest of her life in whatever peace she could find. Jane had other plans. It was easier to just let people believe whatever fit their image of me. Jeff the Killer showing someone mercy? Fighting in only self-defense? That would go over well with the press, don't you think?" he asked. The usual rabid look in his eyes had softened. He still had that damn perpetual smile sliced into his face, but she knew there were things he was leaving out./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;""But this isn't right! She lied to everyone! They deserve to know what happened. It is... beyond fucked up... what you did to her family," Melanie said. She was struggling for words that would strike the balance between not getting her killed and not being forgiving of an undead serial killer. "But the things she was planning? I read her notes. I'm sure you have too, by now. The things that went on in her head? I doubt that all started up all of a sudden just recently. I have no doubts she would have become a monster even if her family was still alive. She deserved what she got. I think... I think you weren't the first person she went after. So, why cover this up? Why hide it from them?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Jeff pawed at the floor with his shoe and avoided her gaze. "She was beautiful. Charming. She won over everyone here. They thought that finally there might be a housemate who could lighten the place up. If they knew back then, if they knew what she was, they would have lost all hope that there were good people left. That good people could be around people like us. I didn't do it so that bitch could save face. I did it for them. Now that you're here I don't think it matters anymore. Don't let all that stuff on those notes get to your head though: I'm still plenty messed up," he insisted./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;""I don't know if I'm necessarily a good person. I think I can be whatever I need to be in different situations. Besides, I don't judge people for sins I've committed too," she said, hardly above a whisper./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Jeff stifled a small gasp and tilted his head to the side, waiting to see if the strange new girl would reveal more of this hidden backstory. Melanie continued, deciding to let that topic drop for now. It wasn't anything they needed to know about in detail. Just that she wasn't some angel that needed protecting. "And please, not this speech again. I just heard it from Toby. About an hour ago he just gave me the whole 'we're too screwed up for you, you'll just get hurt, don't get used to it here' speech. A lot's happened since I got here. I think I know what I'm in for. I mean... I've seen some shit in the last two days! After literally dying, I was pulled back to the world of the living by Slender Man! Of all people! Wait, no not even a people! Pretty sure? It's just... if I'm going to be stuck here for some indefinite amount of time, I don't want to feel stuck. I want to live, I want to not be miserable, and I want to have friends. Even if those friends eat kidneys or live in TVs," she said. At this a tiny smile made its way up Jeff's face: a genuine one this time./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;""So no more secrets?" she asked. He looked up, confused. "I know that's how this place works, but it doesn't seem to be treating anyone well. Think we can be... friends? On the promise you won't kill me?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Last week Melanie would have pinched herself at this offer thinking she would have to be dreaming to ask something so ridiculous. If she was going to survive though, the health of her heart was just as important as her body. She didn't want to wind up like Jane writing to herself to stay sane. Besides, it would put him in a position where it would at least be a little more... awkward emotionally if he decided to end her time on this earthly plane./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Jeff struggled for something to say as Melanie stood up. She took a slow breath and steadied her emotions. "Today is too sunny of a day to stay hunched over that desk. Later on, maybe we could have a gaming tournament?"/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;""Sounds great," he responded hesitantly. She stopped in front of him in the doorway. His shoulders were hunched and he was looking everywhere but at her. Was he... ashamed? Jeff the Killer, ashamed of killing a murderer. What a strange place this was. Goodness, and she thought she was messed up at times. If there was anything she knew, it was how much effort people like them went through to hide everything. No matter who they were around. Around normal people? Hide your demons. Pretend everything is sunshine and rainbows. Around fucked up people? Hide all your emotions. Bottle that shit up. Don't say a word. Always, always that silent fight. Looking at his bloodshot, lidless eyes, she knew he was feeling what she felt every day since junior year. She shook her head and wondered if all these spontaneous decisions to try to unfuck the world around her weren't going to get her in trouble after all as she wrapped her arms around Jeff. Immediately he went as rigid as concrete. When Melanie let go he was looking at her curiously as though he was just seeing her for the first time. She just smiled sadly and stepped into the hallway./p
