Chapter 15: Mine (part III)

I walked up the stairs slowly, trying not to make too much sound. All the other Slender Brothers had already been asleep since an hour ago, and it was rather difficult trying not to disturb them. Well, I shouldn't complain because I myself waited for them to be fully asleep on purpose.

Slender was acting strange, and I didn't like that. I had to talk to him, without anyone intruding our conversation.

My body was shaking slightly as I took each step further up the stairs. I swore I was very confident the first moment I decided to talk to him, but where did this fear come from, and when? I felt like being slowed down a bit by it as I began to go deep into my thoughts. What was I scared of? Scared of him?

No…

It couldn't possibly be the reason. Yes, he was the scary, terrifying, serial killer Slenderman of the never-ending Internet myth, but… but I've known him for too long now, too long for me to be afraid of him anymore. I was even staying at his house and joked around with his brothers, for god's sake! So… what was the reason why I'm feeling so afraid of continuing upstairs? Was I scared of being told to go away? Scared that he might hate me for trying to talk to him? Or scared that…

I brushed the thoughts out of my head and tried to think of my original goal. I know what it is like to be unable to let out your inner emotions, and it is very frustrating. He was my friend, and I didn't want him to be like that.

After a few minutes of walking carefully and quietly, I was finally in front of the door to his room. I held up my hand to knock, but hesitated when it was inches away from the door. It was awfully quiet in there, and that could only mean two things. Either he was thinking to himself, or he had gone to sleep as well. A part of my mind wanted to believe that he was still awake so that I could talk to him, but the other part of my mind desperately hoped that he was sleeping. I put down my hand and looked down at the floor. Something… Something was definitely holding me back, and it was extremely irritating when I couldn't figure out what it was.

I rubbed my face with my hands, feeling frustrating. Maybe I was over-thinking this. There was a possibility that I was. Maybe I… ignored him too much that I didn't even know what his usual behaviors were like? No, that couldn't be it, because I had been hanging out with him so much, even before his brothers arrived. Or maybe I didn't understand him enough, like I thought I did?

Urg… this was giving me a headache.

I eventually gave up on finding the answer. I was too tired, and I really wasn't ready to knock on his door, like I thought I was. I let out a small and quiet sigh and turned my feet, getting ready to walk away-

"Come in, Konna."

I would have literally jumped through the roof if I physically could.

It was Slender's voice, that was for sure. But the point was… how did he know I was outside his room? A tiny sigh was the only thing that escaped my mouth this entire time. Did he secretly have supernatural hearing ability too?

I didn't believe that he knew I was standing outside, so I began to walk away, pretending I didn't hear anything-

"I can sense you outside, Konna. Don't try to sneak away."

… Okay, he definitely knew.

Gulping, I turned my body to the door again and took a deep breath. My hand was noticeably shaking, but I managed to hold the doorknob and turned it oh-so-slowly. My mind was practically yelling at me that this was a bad idea, but it had to happen. I'd come too far to back out now. Plus there was no way he was going to let this slip through so easily.

The moment the door was fully open, I had a good view of something I'd never seen before. Slender was standing in front of the window with one of his hand on one hip. He stood there motionlessly and stayed silent despite knowing that I had entered. The only light source was the moon on the equally beautiful midnight sky, and it shone across the entire room, giving it a bright glow and showering the tall man's body with its light.

He looked so… peaceful.

"Konna…"

I snapped out of my mind when I heard my name being a called with a very low voice. His voice had always been low, but this time it had something in it, something that made his voice seem so different. I looked up at him, and saw that he had turned his head back to look at me, keeping his body still.

"You didn't come here for no reason at all, did you?"

I gulped, feeling my body shaking again.

He didn't hesitate to continue without waiting for my answer. "I won't be angry at you if you just say it all out."

His words sound so gentle, soft but so demanding at the same time. It was hard to decide if it was a request or a demand.

"I…" I trailed off, trying to find the right words. "I noticed that… you w- weren't acting like yourself, so I… I was… worried…"

My voice was way softer than usual, and I noticed it, but I couldn't figure out how to fix it. No matter how much I tried, all the effort seemed to be useless whenever a word finally came out of my mouth.

He did nothing besides staring at me straight in the eyes. I sweated, thinking of breaking the silence but decided against it afterward, because it was enough to explain the situation and I feared I might worsen it by saying more. The longer the silence passed, the more I started to think that he was staring at my soul, not my face anymore.

He suddenly turned his body to fully face me. I felt like my heart had stopped the second he made that swift move, holding my hand up to it to calm it down. He wasn't helping at all when he took one step at a time, one by one until he was standing in front of me in no time at all. I didn't know he could make it look so slow, but that didn't really matter at this point. Because before I knew it, I was backing my body as well… until my back hit the wall behind me.

I was trapped, not only physically but also mentally.

My mind was telling me countless times that the doorknob was just in my hand's reach. I just needed to freaking hold the doorknob, turn it and make a run for it. But there was an unknown force that was preventing from doing so. It felt like every of my muscle was held back in place.

I didn't bother to try to figure out what it was, because I knew all the effort would be for nothing.

Hi there! Sorry for the lack of action in this chapter, especially when I haven't updated for ages. I lost motivation in the middle of the way, so I decided to just leave it for the next chapter, because I know trying to pry words out won't help it.

I hope you enjoy it anyway. I'll see you again soon.