Kendra trailed behind Jeff and BEN the next morning, bags under her eyes and her arms once again wrapped around herself. She hadn't slept very well during the night, her mind plagued with nightmares of everyone suddenly hating her. The worst one was where no matter what she said, everyone called her a liar and a cheat and she got kicked out on her ass with nowhere to go.

She sniffled, wiping the tears forming in her eyes away with the edge of her sleeve. What was she going to do when BEN found out and left her? Kendra glanced at Jeff, who had been avoiding her the entire walk. Had she done something wrong? Did he regret being friends with her? Suddenly all the worries she had yesterday before BEN had showed up overwhelmed her and she almost burst into sobs.

Jeff felt wrong not walking with Kendra, but after last night's revelation, he needed to think without her distracting him. He couldn't think about being in love with her while she was right there. He sighed, shoving his hands into the large pocket at the front of his hoodie so he could run his fingers along the soothing edge of his knife. If he lost any more of his sanity he'd probably name the damn thing and start talking to it.

So he was in love with Kendra, and he highly doubted she felt the same way. The thought sent a shot of pain through his chest. Jeff frowned, glancing over his shoulder at Kendra to see she was on the verge of tears. Shit, what was wrong now? Hesitating, Jeff hung back until he was walking next to Kendra.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, his concern for her clear. She shook her head, her hair falling over her shoulder to hide her face. Jeff's heart clenched, and he knew the pain was only going to get worse when they got back to the mansion.

BEN stopped suddenly, turning to look at Kendra with a regretful expression, "look, Kendra, whatever happens in there, whatever Slender tells me, I do love you."

Kendra looked up at him, sniffling and wiping her face before answering, "then why are you doing this? Why can't you believe me when I say that nothing happened between me and Jeff?"

"Because I saw you Kendra. I saw him kiss you, I watched as you didn't stop him."

Kendra felt her lip quiver, tears finally overflowing and spilling down her cheeks. No more words were spoken, though BEN waited several minutes for her to defend herself. She didn't say anything, she had nothing to say. What BEN had said was the truth, she hadn't pushed Jeff away and there was nothing she could do to change that. He kissed her in a moment of weakness and she didn't respond the way she should've.

BEN sighed, pushing through the last set of trees and the row of bushes that lined them to enter the clearing the mansion sat in. The other two followed, a tense air surrounding them as Kendra started to grow contempt towards Jeff for causing all of this. If he hadn't ignored her relationship status, she wouldn't be in this situation.

Slender appeared in front of the trio, his arms crossed as he looked down at them all. It was clear he wasn't angry at their early return, he knew that they were here for something important, but he was agitated that he was being dragged into such drama simply because BEN was so distrustful.

"They didn't sleep together, BEN, but they had kissed quite heatedly on the second day of your punishment. If Kendra hadn't stopped Jeffrey, they truly would have slept with each other. Lunch is inside, you are all to eat before any fighting should begin, I won't have any of you starving to death."

Kendra flinched, knowing Slender had seen several of her less than safe thoughts about her own health and nodded. She was the first to push inside, ready to get out of sight of the two boys who had caused her so much pain.

BEN felt shocked, he didn't know what to do now that he knew that Kendra was loyal to him but she had still been unfaithful. He wanted to just forgive and forget, but he couldn't. She had broken his trust, he couldn't just let that go. He sighed, glancing at Jeff before walking inside so he could get something to eat.

Jeff looked at Slender, frowning as his concern for Kendra grew. Obviously Slender knew his feelings, but Jeff felt the need to explain anyway. He wanted advice from the only father figure he'd ever had that had taken care of him. Jeff didn't know what to do, and it scared him.

"It's okay to be scared, Jeffrey. Love is a terrifying thing that can bring even the strongest of men to their knees."

"Why? Why is it so easy to love her? I didn't even know I could love someone until she came along, and now I have this fluttery feeling in my stomach whenever she smiles, I don't get it."

Slender sighed, kneeling to Jeff's level and resting a hand on his shoulder, "I understand how you feel, believe it or not, I was in love once myself. They were beautiful to me inside and out but they never returned the feelings. I need you to understand that no matter what happens, you need to be there for Kendra. You may not be there as her mate, but you can always be there as her friend."

Jeff went silent, his eyebrows furrowing in thought. He could definitely be there for her, but could he really handle keeping his hands to himself? It was obvious he had a hard time controlling himself when he was alone with her, and that was before he knew his feelings but now? Could he really keep himself from openly loving her?

"I'll leave you to think, Jeffrey, but please try and come inside soon for lunch, alright?"

Jeff nodded, and just like that he was alone. It was probably a good thing, since he needed more time to himself to think things over, but he wished dearly for some friendly company. Maybe he could find EJ?