(the AN is below, it's gonna be like that from now on)

Guest reviews:

Guest (idea supplier): actually, I had a pretty major writer's block, so any ideas are completely welcome :D you got a point there XD

Nekoni: they would get along so well C: woah that's pretty cool! OFF? looks like another game I have to play. Candy and brownies? you read my mind... *gobbles them up* That wasn't terrifying... at all... o_O

FishCustard: don't beat me up or anything... but who's Martin? If that's what I named her dad, then I must have developed some sort of amnesia :P they don't quite agree with eachother at the time but they'll have to confront eachother sooner or later. I had dreams before where I was a guy too, so I guess dreams are weird like that? Yay Hoodie! I love proxies in general, but I don't know how I'll fit it in Colors, unless you have an idea. I've heard of MH but never watched it, I'll have to some day.

Alex: It's you again! Thank you so much, it makes me really happy to know that people are enjoying Colors :D Ohhh I'm so sorry, this is the second time this has happened to me XD Thanks again! :)

*doesn't own Slenderman*

*is very thankful for reviews and invites readers to review to their heart's content*

Chapter 26

Was I grumpy? Of course I wasn't, I had to act like an adult in a situation like this. Oh, who am I kidding, I was a little irritated that I couldn't stay in the woods, but I guess the man in the suit had a point. Anyways, we watched the movie, and Heather was pretty excited the whole time. She had told me before that one day, she would learn all the moves the spies did in the movies so she could fight crime and crack cases like an expert. That was when I just met her though, so who knows if she still wants to. Probably, but now the idea of being a superhero is pure fantasy.

I'm staring at the ceiling of my room, covered with those glow-in-the-dark star stickers. Once we start decorating the baby's room, I'm going to convince my parents to get those stickers. I'll even peel off some of mine. I care immensely for my future little sibling already, and I'm not going to let anything dim that hope. My mother is still going strong, and I admire her determination. We're actually going to the hospital tomorrow to find out if the baby is a boy or a girl, so I'm more than just excited. I should get some sleep now, well, if my euphoria calms down. My eyelids feel droopy at one point and I'm yawning more, falling into the soft clutches of sleep…

I wake up in the forest. Instantly, I know that this is a dream. Why were my dreams always in the forest? The sun was up, casting bright sunlight through the trees and on the ground. I picked up a scent that seemed out of place. It smelled like something burning. Which is strange, because there were no trees on fire. I jumped when I heard a scream. Someone was in danger! I rapidly ran to where the sound came from, picking up the pace when I heard another shout. I finally got there, finding the one I was looking for. A person, I can't tell if that's a guy or a girl, was on fire! He or she was rolling around, trying to snuff out the flames.

I was about to go and help somehow but I heard laughter. Not from the victim, but from the surroundings. Who laughed? My question was answered when a group of people came from the shadows, pointing and laughing their heads off. How rude can they be? Someone's life is in danger! I yelled at them and they turned to look at me. Right in front of my eyes, they dissipated into the shadows. Upon their exit, the fire went out, leaving the poor person burnt. I can see that it's a guy somewhere in his teens. He stood up as if nothing happened, covered in ash. Wide angry eyes glared at me under a mess of black hair. I felt a presence behind me, leaning in close to my ear, whispering a warning.

"Don't look or it takes you."

The guy was now covered in blood, staining his clothing. He giggled in a way only a psycho can. As he took slow steps up to me, I backed up, now very afraid at what he was doing. The forest was set on fire by an unknown force, painting the green scene with blazing hues of reds and oranges. The burning smell reached my nose once again. Suddenly he took a knife that appeared out of nowhere and threw it straight at me. I screamed, bracing myself for the painful impact.

I fell off my bed, receiving a different result than I expected. I rubbed my arm where I hit the floor. Where did that dream come from? I have the weirdest ones here, I bet they're stranger than Heather's. What unsettled me was that the smell still persisted, even though I'm awake. I heard Heather yell from downstairs, making me rush to see what happened. My father was in the kitchen with her, shaking his head as Heather tried to clear up the air by opening a window and waving her hands frantically. Apparently, he wanted to teach her how to make pancakes, in which she failed terribly. My father pushed a button to turn on the air vent, sucking up all the excess smoke.

"Maybe cooking isn't your thing," he mumbled, "I'll just handle this."

"But I had it!" Heather shouted, "And then the stupid pancakes had a mind of their own and set themselves on fire!"

"Don't worry about it," my father tried to console, "I'll take it from here."

"What is there to 'take from here'?" Heather questioned, "They're all burnt!"

"You do have a point there," he rationalized, "looks like we're going to have to start from scratch."

"Dumb pancakes," Heather grumbled, "it's not that hard. I think this pancake mix is defective."

She saw me and waved, beckoning me to go with her to the living room. I followed, wondering what she was up to. My stomach rumbled as I looked back at the pancakes. Even if they're burnt as badly as Heather allowed it, pancakes are pancakes. I sat down on the sofa next to her.

"What's up, Heather?"

"Are we going to the hospital today?" she asks bluntly.

"Yeah!" I exclaim, now excited again, "We get to find out if the baby is going to be a brother or a sister."

"This is a huge favor to ask," Heather shyly said, "but can you go to the woods with after we come back?"

"Of course I would, it's the forest after all!"

"I know," she laughed, "but this is something different, something I want to do."

My face softened at her serious tone. "What is it?"

"Today is a special day for me."

"The last time I recalled, your birthday isn't today."

"It's not my birthday," she stammered, "it's my mom's."

"Oh." Was all I uttered.

"She would be turning 38," Heather mumbled, "kinda young, huh?"

I nodded my head, unsure what to say. My mother is turning 35 this year, she married young and had me right away so her age is pretty low in comparison to other mothers. Of course, I don't tell Heather this. That would be rude.

"What do you want to do?" I ask, "In the woods, I mean. Is there something in specific?"

"My mom liked roses," Heather said, "she had rose perfume, rose soap, everything that had to do with roses I guess. In her room on her nightstand, she would have a skinny vase with a single rose which she would water every night and replace with a new one if it wilted…"

"Do you want to get roses from the flower shop at the plaza?" I offered, hesitant to interrupt her nostalgia, "Roses don't grow in these woods."

"Oh, sure!" she consented, "Will your dad take us there?"

"Why wouldn't he?" I pondered, "We might be able to go after the hospital visit."

"How about I ask him?" She proposed, "it's a personal topic for me so it's best that I tell him about this."

"Okay," I agreed, "why don't you ask him now?"

"Sure," Heather concurred, "he's in the kitchen making his oh so perfect pancakes, right?"

I laughed. "His pancakes are pretty good, you have to admit."

Heather huffed. "Well one day I shall create pancakes that are better than his! Mark my words!"

"You and Slenderman should compete then so you can prepare."

"Wait… Slendy the faceless fear-devouring malevolent being of the woods making pancakes?"

"His aren't bad, believe it or not."

"Hold on one more time, not only did Mr. Ray o' Sunshine actually made pancakes, but you ate them as well?"

"That's what my words are implying, so yes Heather, they're awesomely good and to beat my dad's pancakes you have to beat Slenderman's too."

"I have to prevail over that dude? No problem, none at all!"

I have no idea if she's sarcastic or not. As if on cue, my father calls from the kitchen saying the pancakes are ready. I rush to the table in the dining room while Heather sends a glare towards my father's general direction. Great, now she's going to judge his pancakes with a taste of a food critic, like that man from Ratatouille. He places them on the table and sets out the butter and the maple syrup.

"Okay girls," he said, "feel free to take as many as you want."

Was that directed towards me?

"Thanks Mr. Castillo," Heather told him, "but the real question is, will my pancakes ever surpass yours?"

"Oh my God," I mumbled to myself, "what is she doing now?"

"It takes practice," my father began, "to create such delicacies with fervor and experience to-"

"Yeah, yeah," Heather cut him off, "but this is what I'm up against, so I need to try this first."

"You've tried my pancakes before, Heather," he stated, "wouldn't you know how they taste?"

"I have to taste them again!" she proclaimed, "you know, to analyze it well."

"This is breakfast," I complained, "not a food competition!"

"See Heather?" my father said with emotion, "my poor daughter and your close friend is suffering of malnourishment because of your tendencies to be competitive! The horror!"

"Woah dad," I spoke up, "what happened to your vocabulary? You're catching up to me!"

"What do you mean by that?" my father inquired, "My vocabulary is perfectly fine."

"Whatever," I mumbled, "If you're not going to eat these pancakes then I will."

Eventually we finally ate the pancakes. Heather was saying absurd things about them like how one of the blueberries wasn't perfectly round or that it wasn't the right shade of tan, while my father just rolled his eyes. I tuned most of their conversation out, focusing on this breakfast from heaven. My father told me to calm down, so I guess I ate inhumanly. By the time I was finished, I ate five and a half pancakes (the other half fell on the floor because of Heather but I won't get into that).

I perked up when my father announced that we were going to the hospital to see my mother. Not only was I excited to see her in person again, but also the mystery of the gender of the baby will be solved. All through our trip to the hospital, I told Heather about names I thought was nice, both female and male. She told me with some she came up with, which were silly names, showing that she was joking with half of them. My father reminded us that we have to figure out the gender first to come up with a name, but I wouldn't let that stop me.

We finally arrived at the hospital after what seemed like an eternity. I practically snatched the visitor's card, earning a stern look from my father. I wanted to take the stairs seeing that was the fastest way to get there. Elevators took more time anyway. I found the room my mother resided in, taking in the scene. There was a doctor, who was a middle-aged woman, with her while she was lying on the bed. I greeted her with a smile as she returned one of her own. I took one of the chairs there and slid it next to the hospital bed as my father and Heather walked in the room. My mother waved to Heather and nodded to my father, never losing her bright smile.

"Okay," the doctor began, "let's see the little tyke."

She used the ultrasound to show us an image of the baby. She furrowed her brows as she moved it around more.

"Is there anything wrong?" my father asked with concern, "The baby is fine, right?"

"Yes mister," the doctor assured, "the little one is being shy right now."

I smile when I hear her say 'little one', it's what Slenderman calls me too.

"How is the baby being shy?" I curiously question, "Is he or she looking away or…"

The doctor laughs. "You see, we have to look between the legs to identify the sex of the baby, but it has its legs crossed over that area."

I look at the image the ultrasound produces to try to make out the form of the baby. I can see the head and limbs, and it takes me a while to see what the doctor is talking about.

After checking a few more times, the doctor gets up and says, "Glad to say that the baby is doing fine, but we'll have to schedule another visit. It's being quite stubborn and doesn't want to be revealed yet."

My mother laughs. "That's fine, Dr. Reese. I can wait."

Heather pokes my mom's belly, most likely as curious as I am about the tiny human inside. My father thanks the doctor, and before I know it, we're leaving. I ask him if I can stay a little more to talk with my mom, to which he let me but only for five minutes. I sit next to her again while he waited outside with Heather.

"How's it going?" I ask my mom.

"Everything is fine," she answers, "I'm getting better so that's some good news."

"That's great mom!" I exclaim, "I can't wait to see the baby."

"Yes, me too," she agrees, "Even though I don't know if it's a girl or a boy, that just makes me more excited."

"So mom," I say, "about the whole forest danger situation…"

"Don't worry," she comforted, "I talked to him and he has to let you go now, but you should let him go with you at least once in a while."

I'm happy my mom understands, but Slenderman wouldn't like it if my father went in the woods at all. He has to learn to accept my father by now though, so I consent with everything my mother is saying.

"Okay," I tell her, "thanks for understanding."

"No problem," she responds with a smile, "he just needs to clear his head of whatever hallucinations he's having."

"Yeah." I stand, putting he chair back in place. My father is calling me, so I turn to leave. Before I exit the room, I go back and give my mother a hug, wrapping my arms around her inflated belly. She kisses my forehead and we exchange goodbyes before I go out.

Heather is outside humming a song while my father talks to someone. He looks awkward, as if he wanted to go home already. When I get there, he perks up and excuses himself, leading us downstairs. I ask him why he was in a hurry, and he said that he didn't like hospitals. I can understand why he would be uncomfortable, but we don't have to leave right away.

While we're in the car, Heather mentions to me about her plans for what she wants to do in the woods. I tell my father about it, and he actually thought it was a good idea. We just have to be back before it became night. So he dropped us off at the plaza because he had to go to the house to do some "business". He was implying his job but I don't know for sure what he meant by that. My father would pick us up later while we could get what we needed. He explained this to us as he gave is the money and off he went.

"Where do you want to go first?" I asked Heather, "We have a lot of time, you know."

"How about…" she pondered, "Oh! There's the flower shop right there!"

"Awesome!" I say with excitement, "Let's go there first!"

We rush over there, anxious to get our hands on some roses. As we get close to the store, I have the urge to sneeze. It turns out someone is smoking close by. That annoys me so much when there are people smoking close to the entrances of stores. At least this is a flower shop, so I get to smell the flowers inside.

I look around to see who's the culprit, finally finding a tall man with a trench coat. He tips his fedora at people passing by, and I see that he's aiming the gesture at young ladies. I don't think that will work, and I'm proven wrong when I see a brunette approach him, saying something I can't hear. He offers her a rose, but she denies it, and I can only hear the words "pollen" and "allergy" which pretty much tell me the whole story. She nods to him and walks away, leaving him alone on his desperate hunt.

I break away from the scene when I hear Heather call my name. She points out this arrangement of roses that vary in color. There were yellow, pink, red, and white roses in the bunch. My favorites are the pink ones, but Heather said her mother would love all the colors. Noting that this was the only bouquet with different colored roses left, we bought it, glad that my father gave us sufficient money.

As I count the change, I didn't notice a bump on the pavement, making me trip and drop all the coins. I sigh loudly, picking them up. I tell Heather to hold on to the roses, after all, it was my own fault that I tripped. However, there was a girl, I would say about eight years old, who came quickly and helped me pick them up. At first I thought she just wanted the coins to herself, but she gave the coins she got to me. She stood, dusting her pink dress and taking a teddy bear she placed on the ground. I thanked her before she left, patting her head full of curly brown hair. She giggled and ran to where I guessed her parents are.

Heather said we really didn't need anything else, so we just walked around during the time we had left. I found the fountain where we took the picture a few years ago, seeing it was filled with coins. I had an idea as I got a penny that was part of our change. I told Heather I was going to make a wish, and she took a penny to do so too. I don't know what her wish was, but in my case, I wished that my family could be closer, especially with the coming of our newest member. Heather took another coin and said she was going to make a wish for 'Slendy'. I don't think it would count but she continued with it anyway.

My father picked us up later, praising our choice on the bouquet. Heather suggested that he could drop us off at the parking lot of the elementary school, so that's what he did. He said he would come to pick us up as well, to ensure we don't lose track of time. Once in the forest, Heather said that she found this cool place where we could go. I followed her until when we got there, my eyes widened. This looks similar to one of my dreams when I hid in my sanctuary of light. It was a small field, if you could call it that, as if the trees avoided that spot for a reason. Although it spooked me a bit, I agreed that this was a great place.

"What if we climbed one of the trees?" Heather wondered, "And we could release petals once the wind picks up?"

"That sounds pretty cool," I responded, and trying to get Slenderman to come, I added, "how about that really tall one over there?"

Heather smirked, catching on to what I was doing. "Yeah, you mean the dry one where the branches look like they're about to fall off?"

I smiled. "Of course, what else?"

"Great idea Andrea, and even though we might fall and break a bunch of bones, it sounds really fun!"

We waited in silence, but Slenderman hasn't come yet. There was a very faint buzz of static, which encouraged us even more.

"Here, let me climb first!" Heather yelled, purposely choosing a very weak branch and making it break, "Oops! I guess I'll have to pick another branch!"

When I started to notice an increase of volume to the static, I had to hold in my laughter.

"I know what to do, Andrea! How about you ride piggy back so we can get to the top at the same time!"

"Sure thing, Heather!"

"Wouldn't it be funny if we both fell at the same time?"

"Yup, but what's the worst that could happen?"

"I don't know, maybe we'll both crack our heads and our guts will spill out!"

You do know I won't rescue you two.

I don't see him around us, but I do know he's out there somewhere. Heather has a taunting smile on her face.

"Oh really Slendy? I don't believe you."

I won't.

"We'll see about that!"

She starts climbing, getting no results so far. She slips, though it didn't look accidental, but she still holds on. Heather goes even higher, dangerously waving with the wind. Slenderman doesn't make an appearance. As a final daring act, she stands on a high branch and goes forward, looking like she's walking the plank. For emphasis, she makes a little hop. Well that little hop made a huge difference, because the branch snaps and she falls. I vaguely hear Slenderman groan before teleporting to where we are and catching her with a tentacle. He forcefully places her on the ground.

"See! I told you!"

I just happened to feel a little empathy for you.

"I knew you wouldn't let me fall!"

Slenderman seemingly glares at Heather, his equivalent of 'shut up'.

What are the roses for?

"I'm celebrating someone's birthday today!" Heather cheerfully says, "And I brought Andrea along!"

Slenderman glances at me before looking at the roses in Heather's hands again.

Whose birthday?

"My mom's!"

Slenderman nods knowingly, and I recall when he told me he read Heather's memories when she was going through the forest before she ended up at my house. He understands the significance of this, well I think so, and he should have seen human customs throughout his many years of living.

"Now," Heather states, "we need to wait for the wind."

There's a moment of awkward silence.

"Hey Slendy," Heather asks, "Can you summon the wind?"

Slenderman chuckles.

Among all the things I can do, controlling nature isn't one of them.

"Is that me," Heather says, "or are you in a good mood?"

He shrugs.

I'm calm at the moment; nothing is troubling me.

"You're even using human gestures," I observe, "you are acting happier than usual."

Is it that noteworthy that I am content right now?

Heather suddenly fist pumps. "Looks like that coin was put to good use!"

I recall the coins and the fountain, and grin. So the wish she made for him worked after all. That gives me hope for my own wish. Out of the blue, a breeze blows, which doesn't go unnoticed by Heather.

"And the wind is here!" she shouts, getting on her knees and looking at the sky, "This has to be a sign!"

I giggle at her dramatic actions. Heather hasn't changed one bit, and I'm happy she continues to be herself.

"Here!" Heather tells me while handing me a few roses, "You can pluck the petals and let them fly off! We'll just do it from here."

The sun illuminates the spot we're in, completing the scene. I take a pink rose, flinching a little when my finger touches a thorn. I adjust my hand, ready to pluck, but I'll wait for Heather.

"Do you want one?" Heather asks Slenderman, "You can join in too!"

He hesitates, but takes out a tentacle to pick out a rose. He's about to pick a red one, but something makes him change his mind and he picks a white one instead. Of course, his tentacle can grasp the rose without it getting hurt from the thorns. I, on the other hand (literally), have a small cut.

Heather picks out a yellow rose and when the wind gets stronger, she plucks it, letting the petals fly off to who knows where. Somewhere her mother is smiling, perhaps even grabbing some of the petals. That's what I'd like to think. I release some pink rose petals, watching them swirl in the air before disappearing. Slenderman just watches us, still clutching to the white rose, before he tentatively takes a petal with his long bony fingers and lets it go. He looks interested in what we're doing, most likely never participating in something like this, until now. Heather laughs and having plucked all the petals, throws her arms in the air.

"Happy birthday, mom!"

AN: This is probably the LONGEST I have not updated. This is also the LONGEST chapter too (4,662 words according to the word count!) I'm in spring break, so I thought I would plan my homework accordingly and write this early on. hahAHAHAHA... as if I ever plan anything ahead ._. Anyways, thanks for those of you who were very patient, I really appreciate it so much! So, did you catch any references to Creepypastas here? Can ya name them? The dreams in the reviews were pretty interesting XD so to end this author's note, happy birthday to anyone who's birthday was today (or close by) Hopefully I'll be able to update by next week, now back to that dreadful homework.