AN: OVER 4K WORDS! Anyways, the rest of the AN is on the bottom, see ya there!

Guest Reviews:

FishCustard: Really? That's cool :) Can't blame Slendy though. I have a friend who's a major whovian. Laughing jack? D: A clown?! haha it's cool, I'll keep him in mind. Indeed you're fabulous XD *sprinkles glitter over you*

Sammy: GET THE FLAMETHROWERS! I feel forgiven then c: Hey, nice choices! ...and that's another for LJ :O

Nekoni: Ooh, a vocaloid? I'm sure she sings purrfectly~! (okay that was a bad pun) YES! THANK YOU FOR MENTIONING THEM. I was originally thinking of putting the Slender bros here. Jeff is a popular choice too. Muchas gracias! (we must, the time has come! mwahahaha!)

anonymous: Hey, thanks! I'm glad you like Colors :D

Chapter 25

My father was on the phone, ordering pizza. I asked if we could get pepperoni, which my father said yes to. Heather was practically begging for stuffed crust, but she didn't really have to because that was accepted too. I'm pretty sure my father would let us have whatever we wanted, to hide any suspicion that Heather pointed out earlier. When he was done, he sat on the couch in the living room to watch TV. He asked us if we wanted to sit with him, but considering he was watching the news, it wasn't something Heather and me would be so excited for. But I remembered I had to talk to him, as well as Mr. Grumpypants in the woods, so I sat next to him. Heather went up to our room to do whatever she does.

"Um, dad?"

"Yes sweetheart?"

"So, are you feeling okay?"

"From the walk?" he asked quickly, chuckling a bit, "I feel fine, just a little tired, that's all."

"Great!" I say cheerfully before wrapping my arms around him in a tight hug, making sure I include his arms.

He winced, and then shrugged me off. "Aw thanks… did you just see that!?"

"See what?" I ask, turning to the TV, "You mean the economic stuff?"

"Yeah! Look at the stats! Foreclosure is getting out of hand!"

"Uh, they put that every week."

"But it took a turn for the worse!" He exclaims, "Maybe you'll get it when you're older."

I huff out of frustration. Why do adults always say that?

"Pfft. Whatever."

"Why don't you join Heather upstairs?"

I was about to go, but I realized I didn't even get to ask him about the cuts.

"Dad, are you hurt?"

"Why so suspicious all of the sudden? I said I was fine."

"What about your arms?"

"What about my arms?"

That's another thing that annoys me, when people just fling your question back at you.

"They have cuts on them," I state bluntly, "I saw them at the forest."

"Oh, those?" My father asks, laughing, "I already had those!"

"Dad! What happened to 'honesty is the best policy'?"

"You worry too much, just like your mother."

"Mom doesn't worry that much."

"Oh trust me, she does."

"Then I guess neither do you, there's these freakish cuts on your arms and you act like they're tiny scrapes."

"They're nothing to fuss about, Andrea," he tries to assure me, "why don't you go with Heather?"

"But—"

The doorbell rings, alerting the arrival of the delivery guy. My father cuts me off to say he's going to answer. Looks like he was saved by the bell, however next time I'm going to get more out of him, as in actual answers. How am I going to do that? I don't know, but I have to do something. My father tells me to go get Heather. I run up the stairs and open the door to the bedroom. What I see before me gets rid of any sour mood I have and instantly sets me laughing.

Heather's dress is lying on the bed while she looks at herself in the mirror wearing something else. This isn't some other dress she has on. She's wearing one of my father's business suits! She's taller than me, but still way shorter than my father. The sleeves extend to the point of drooping from her arms. She's also wearing one of his dress shirts that reach her knees. I guess Heather doesn't know how to fasten a tie, because it has a loose knot. Not that I know how to tie one either. She turns around to laugh along with me.

"Oh my God, you look ridiculous!"

"Ridiculous? Andrea, I look gorgeous!" Heather said in a singsong voice, twirling for emphasis.

"You didn't even put the tie on right!"

"Oh really? How about I do this?" Heather takes the tie and fastens it around her head like a bandana, which makes me laugh even harder if possible.

"What the heck do you call that!?"

"It's called fashion," Heather sang out, "look it up."

"The pizza is ready! Why aren't you-"

My father pauses behind me, staring at Little Miss Fabulous. I widen my eyes, wondering what he would make of this situation. Heather freezes up as well, caught red-handed. She clears her throat and smiles; nervous giggles escaping her mouth. Slowly, she takes the tie off her head and makes an attempt to fold it nearly and rolls it up after giving up. She steps up to my father, hands him the rolled up tie, and shuts the door. I dare to look at my father's expression, but when I do, I hold back my laughter. His face is contorted into the image of confusion. I get he's trying to figure Heather out. There's no answer to that though, Heather is a mystery that has no solution. She's just insane.

Gradually, he goes to his room to leave the tie there, and then goes downstairs. I tell Heather that I'll be downstairs, to which she yelled an okay. I settle down in the seat once I'm in the dining room, greedily staring at the pizza box. It smells so good; my mouth is watering already. I hear Heather's thumps signaling that she was making her way down here too. She has her dress on now, lime green in color. She rushes to a chair next to mine, smoothing the dress.

"Mr. Castillo, about what you saw there—"

"It's fine Heather, I was going to get rid of that suit anyway."

"Really? Why?"

"Because I wore it around someone who had lice, and now there's little lice eggs and whatnot in there."

Heather choked on the slice of pizza she took, which made my father laugh heartily.

"I'm kidding," he consoled her, "there's nothing wrong with it."

"That wasn't very nice of you," Heather grumbled, a playful tone underlying her voice, "Now excuse me while I calm down from my mini panic attack."

We ate the pizza without saying much, savoring the deliciousness. I stopped at two pizzas because I got big slices, but Heather had like three or four. How she stays so skinny is a puzzle I'd rather leave alone. I sipped my fizzing soda, finishing up the cup. Its still afternoon, so maybe I can convince my father to let me and Heather go to the woods. When everything was cleaned up, I went up to my father to do my best to persuade him.

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Me and Heather are going to the woods, we'll come back by evening, okay?"

"What? Why don't you stay home?"

"I was just letting you know so you won't get worried."

"You need to understand, I'm trying to protect you."

"From what?" I dare him to tell me, "What are you so afraid of?"

"From creeps like that man who kidnapped you, I don't want that to happen again."

Oh, so he's going to take that approach.

"But dad, me and Heather went in the forest millions of times, and there was never anybody like that."

Slenderman doesn't count, so I'm technically saying the truth.

"I've seen someone in the woods before, and I don't want you getting hurt."

"Just because you saw someone doesn't mean that they're potentially dangerous."

"But he is. So please, don't go."

"If you haven't noticed dad, the woods are like my second home. You can't just restrain me here forever."

He runs his hands through his hair and then looks up at me with a stern look in his eyes.

"We already went today. I'll go rent a movie or something, but you and Heather are going to stay here."

"But dad—"

"Andrea, you're staying here. That's final."

I huff and get off the couch. I run upstairs, clenching my hands and gritting my teeth. This isn't fair at all. Nothing bad ever happened to me in the woods, and the only time I got hurt was in the other forest with a criminal who's dead now. It wasn't my fault that he ran into Slenderman, so why is he practically punishing me? Heather was going to go with me too, so I'm not by myself.

Heather is somehow back upstairs without me noticing. Yet again the sight makes me stand and stare because she's up to her silly antics again. She's on the floor, wrapped in one of the blankets so she looks like some sort of worm. She rolls around, squirming and wiggling and all the kinds of stuff worms do. I walk up to her and tap her with my foot. I must've hit harder than I thought because I made Heather yell.

"Ow!"

"Oh, sorry," I stammer before gaining my composure, "What the heck are you doing now?"

"Don't blame me."

"Heather, you're crazy."

"Heather?" her muffled voice questions, "Who is that? I don't know who she is."

"Oh my God. You're Heather, in case you hit your head."

"I am in fact a caterpillar. Your argument is invalid."

"What? I thought you were supposed to be a worm."

"A worm?! Excuse me, I am a caterpillar. How rude of you."

"Caterpillars don't move like that."

"Yes they do. To specify, I'm an inchworm. See?"

She aligns herself and then crawls across the room the way inchworms to. I giggle uncontrollably.

"Heather!"

"I'm not Heather!" She screams, "I'm an inchworm!"

She bumps her head into a wall.

"Ouch."

"There's 'worm' in inchworm," I say after I recover, "So you're a worm."

"Well what about dragonflies? They're not dragons or flies," Heather argues, "They're… whatever they are. Bugs."

My father comes up the stairs, talking to someone on the phone. When I hear pet names come up, I realize that he's talking to my mother. Excited, I eagerly go to his side and I plead him for a turn to talk to her.

"Yes, dear," he sighs, "I'm trying my best. I— she's right here, let me hand the phone to her."

I snatch it enthusiastically and put it over my ear. "Hey mom!"

"Hello!" her sweet voice rings out, "How are you doing?"

"Okay."

"It doesn't sound like it. What happened?"

My father mouths to me that he's going back downstairs and to give the phone back when I'm done. I nod and wait for him to disappear out of sight.

"Dad won't let me go to the woods, it's like he's keeping us hostage here."

"When was the last time you went?"

"This morning, but—"

"This morning? You want to go again?"

"Yeah, but dad went with us in the morning and he was acting like a scaredy cat the whole time. It kinda ruined our little hike."

"Oh, don't mind your father. He's getting quite jumpy lately."

"But that doesn't mean he has to make us stay here!"

"So why exactly isn't he letting you go?"

"He's afraid that some creepy dude is gonna appear, even though that has never happened before in these woods."

"Heather is going to go with you, right?"

"Yeah! So I'm not alone."

"Then I don't see why you can't go. Your father is a bit paranoid since the incident."

"Only a bit?"

She laughs. "Fine, he's excessively paranoid. In fact, he told me of this strange thing that he encountered in the woods."

I immediately think of Slenderman. "What did he say about it?"

"He said that he doesn't remember much, but that it was a monster, it couldn't be human. He's been having hallucinations, I suppose. The medicine is taking a toll on him."

He doesn't remember well?

"So he saw a werewolf or what?"

"He actually said he saw tentacles," she mused, "so maybe a weresquid."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"It doesn't, so Andrea, look after him for me. Please."

"Sure mom, but can't I go to the woods?"

"Only if Heather goes with you."

"Thanks for understanding," I acknowledge, "Love you mom."

"Love you too! And Andrea, next week we will find out whether the baby is a boy or a girl!"

"Really? Awesome!"

"I'm grateful that the baby is in good condition. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Of course mom. Bye!"

I go downstairs and hand the phone to my father, who was on his laptop typing up something. He nods and takes the phone, putting it to his ear. I go back upstairs and tell Heather that we should go to the woods. She's unwound from the blanket, stretching her limbs. While I'm telling her about my conversation on the phone, I notice that my father raised his voice, clearly upset about something. Had she told him that she let us go to the woods?

"I'll take them tomorrow," he argues, "they already went today!"

He pauses for a second.

"I'm fine, don't worry sweet— shh, calm down, calm down."

I peek downstairs like I had done when I was younger. Heather decides to stay out of this and goes back in the bedroom.

"But I need to be there for them," he explains, "They have no adult supervising them!"

If only he knew.

"Listen, I know I saw that thing. They aren't safe."

I just remembered that we have another phone upstairs in my parents' bedroom. I'm too curious to hear what my mom is saying. I pick it up to eavesdrop.

"…can go if she wants to," I hear my mom say, "Heather is going with her."

"But they need me, so I can protect them from that monster!"

"If this 'monster' is real, then how can your protect them if you couldn't protect yourself?"

"I'll let them go, but only during daytime, okay? And without me. If they want to go during night then I have to go with them."

"Fine. I told Andrea she could go."

"Yes I'll let her go, but she has to be back before its night."

"Okay," my mom gives in, "but don't keep them in the house all the time, you understand?"

"It's not that! I do take them out, but Andrea always wants to go to the woods! I don't understand that!"

I tense up. Maybe he's right; I do go to the woods a lot. But he doesn't know the whole truth, plus Slenderman would be pissed if my father kept us away from the woods. I snap back to the conversation, but they're already saying goodbye. They hang up, and I go back to my room and sit on my bed. Heather is on the top bunk, eating anther granola bar. I don't get her obsession with those. I'll have to ask her some other time. My father calls out from downstairs, too tired or weary to go back up, I guess.

"So how about I go rent out a movie?" he shouts, "You know, like a movie night?"

"Uh, sure dad!" I shout back, "but can we go to the woods first?"

"I told your mother that you could go tomorrow, okay?"

"But you also said we could go today!"

"…were you eavesdropping?"

I try to think of something quickly. "You were yelling, how could I not hear you?"

"Oh," he mumbles, and then raises his voice, "Just stay, please?"

Honestly, I feel like giving up. Sitting back and watching a movie doesn't sound bad. But I still have that guilt that I haven't had a good conversation with Slenderman. An idea forms in my mind, a risky one, but it might work.

"Sure dad. Sorry for making you mad."

"Really?" he sounds surprised, "Thanks, I appreciate it. Now, which movie do you want to see?"

"Any movie is fine by me."

"What does Heather want?"

"I'm right here." I hear her voice downstairs.

"Ah! You surprised me!"

When did she go downstairs?

"Anyways, do you like horror, Mr. Castillo?"

"Um. Sure!"

"No you don't dad," I say as I go downstairs to join them, "You always scream like a little girl."

"I believe you're talking about yourself," he accuses me, "I don't scream."

"If you say so, but you jump at everything!"

"Maybe," Heather suggests, "we can see action. Like 007 or Die Hard or something!"

We all agree, so my dad prepares to go out to rent a movie. He doesn't rent them online; he likes having a physical copy. That's just him. But before he leaves, I tap his shoulder to get his attention.

"Hey dad?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to take a shower first," I tell him, "you know, since we went to the woods this morning."

"Oh! Sure thing, go ahead. I might as well get snacks while I go out."

"Great! Bye dad."

"Bye sweetie."

He goes out the door, leaving Heather and me in the living room. I'm about to tell Heather of my plan, but I change my mind. With the way I plotted things, it can only include me. I'll have to apologize to her later. I get a towel and go into the bathroom. I turn the shower on, however, I don't undress. I never thought I would be thankful for windows in bathrooms. The hot steamy water runs, fogging up the room. I'd be wasting a lot of water, but it's for the best, it's not like I have any more options. I open the window, knowing that the rushing water will cover up any sounds, which I can use as an excuse for not being able to hear them.

The sun is already sinking beneath the horizon, shrinking away its light. That's probably why my father didn't want me to go anyway, it wouldn't stop me in the end though. Now that I'm out here, how do I get down? I was thinking of sliding down the gutters, but they don't look that secure. I close my eyes and count to three before lurching myself toward the gutters. I grip them tightly, afraid that I might fall. I place my feet slowly downwards, climbing down with caution. My heart stops when I misplace my step, saved by my even tighter grasp. I look down to see how close am I to the ground, which is a huge mistake. I feel dizzy, and I hurry to get it over with. Before I know it, I'm falling to the ground!

As I'm tensed to prepare for the impact, I'm surprised to feel that there was a bush under me. I get a few scrapes, which is a lot better than breaking a bone. I look back up at the window, now wondering how do I get back in. I'll think of something. I don't waste any more time by heading to the woods, speed walking in hopes that I won't get caught by my father. Soon, I'm just by the school, which is empty because it's a Saturday. I make sure to go to the woods on weekends and after the children are dismissed. Sometimes though, I go while the kids have recess, nostalgic memories repeating in my head as I do so. The teachers rarely see me, too occupied with their students and with other teachers.

While thinking about all of this, I find myself surrounded by the forest. Good thing I had my hoodie with me, because even though there isn't a strong breeze, the air is chilly. I'm wandering aimlessly, expecting Slenderman to teleport to where I am. The only problem is, I don't know when he'll do it. Another dangerous idea pops into my head. I think that Heather is getting to me; with all of these tricky tasks I want to do. I look for a tall and sturdy tree, and start climbing. Lucky for me, this tree has branches I can reach which don't sway too much. I grimace when the scrapes scratch against the bark of the tree, but I continue anyway. I get to a good height, and sit on the branch that's closest to me. Recalling what Heather has done, I start swinging my legs as if I was going to jump.

What are you doing?

I smile. "Nothing."

That crazy friend of yours is influencing you.

"She's an awesome role model," I joke, "wouldn't you agree?"

Clearly.

I smirk at his sarcastic tone. I was about to say something else, but now that I think about it, I also came here to talk to him about the cuts on my dad's arms.

"So…"

So.

"About my father," I start, "what happened to his arms?"

I do not care for that man, why would I focus on such a minor detail?

"There were cuts on his arms."

Maybe he should be more careful.

I cut to the chase. "Did you cut his arms?"

He did that himself.

"Answer me—"

I am. He felt my presence and scurried away. However, he was so clumsy he tripped and cut his arm on a splintered tree branch.

"You better not be lying to me."

He teleports us to a random spot in the woods instantly. Well, at least I thought it was random until I see it. It's a splintered tree branch, and looking closely, there are bloodstains.

"Oh."

Now do you believe me?

"Did he even see you?"

He pauses, as if he were pondering. Once again, he teleports me, but to the side of my house. He lifts me with a tentacle to the bathroom window and places me inside. All of this happened in a flash, so I was confused until I realized what he did.

"Hey! Why did you do that?"

You don't want to be caught sneaking off into the woods, correct?

"Yeah, but they won't realize it."

What if your friend goes in there to look for you? You haven't told her you were going to the woods, or else she would be with you.

"Okay, maybe I didn't think of that."

The man is arriving soon, so it is best for you to stay here. You can come tomorrow, but don't bring him.

"I won't. Hey, you never answered my question!"

I'll answer your questions tomorrow.

"Wait! Just answer one question and then you can go."

What is it?

"How do you know my dad's almost here?"

I have a lock on his aura.

Slenderman disappears.

AN: What's this? The AN teleported here! What did you do Slender?! Okay, I felt like it was too bunched up in the beginning, so I'm separating the guest reviews from the actual note. I don't know you like it, but if you liked it better the other way, then speak up! I'd love to hear your opinion. Anyways, I kinda procrastinated this project we had over a year to do... so that wasn't fun. But now that I have time, I updated this! About the Creepypastas: I may add them way later, if not in a sequel of some sorts. I was just wondering if you'd be interested, so thanks for the feedback! Oh, and just because I'm kinda nosy and curious, tell me about a crazy dream you had! I love hearing about other people's dreams because I'm weird like that XD

I don't own Slendah.

REVIEW! It stands for Rabbits Eagerly Vacuum In Every Way! Fine, it doesn't, but please review! Thanks :D