Chapter 3

The last two weeks had been surprisingly calm for Conall, everything was seemingly normal again, but he didn't doubt that the being was still around. He was still on the fence about the being, but if it wanted to kill him it probably would have by now, unless it liked to torture its victims first. He tried not to dwell on the thought of the suit wearing monster for too long, but it proved difficult not to do so when he wasn't busy.

He stepped out of the library and pulled his hood up over his head before he ventured out into the light rain. He kept a wary eye out for any slender being that could be lurking as he made his way to the bus stop, standing next to the bench with his hands in his pockets.

The Slenderman stood a few feet back in the woods behind the bus stop. The rain slipped down between the leaves and dropped through him, as he didn't feel like getting wet right then.

He'd kept careful tabs on Conall, listening to the sound of his heart and how often it began to speed. The first few days after his appearance had been the worst, considerable spikes each time he had to step into his bedroom. But the last few days he'd been especially calm.

The Slenderman looked off to the side. He could hear the bus in the far distance but it had a number of turns and stops to make before arriving. He turned back to Conall, deciding not to wait any longer. The human wouldn't be around forever.

He teleported forward, sitting on the far end of the bench where he'd been the first time. He laced his fingers together somewhat more nervously than he had the first time and turned to face Conall.

He jumped back away from the bench when the Slenderman popped up on the bench, letting out a surprised yell in the process. He ended up slipping and falling back onto the wet sidewalk, groaning a bit after he landed hard on his ass—he might as well have sat on the wet bench at this point. Conall let his head hang back, hood falling back off of his head, and panted a bit from the scare he'd just gotten. "Well, hello to you too." He finally spoke once he calmed down, not even bothering to get up from the wet side walk at this point, his pants were already soaked.

He couldn't help but glare at the being sitting on the bench, "Lovely to see you again." He wondered if the thing knew what sarcasm was, but he shook the thought away before he stood up. Conall pulled his hood back over his head and sat on the wet bench now, grumbling a bit to himself about being wet.

The Slenderman quickly leaned forward to see if Conall had been wounded from the fall, but he seemed to be relatively alright as he sat on the bench. The sarcasm confirmed him as being alright.

Still, he watched the rain shower down, further dampening his clothes. He himself was perfectly dry, and felt strangely guilty for being so. It only took him a moment to make up his mind. And even with it made up, there was no telling Conall would go along with it. Either way he would make the offer. The bus was still far away.

The Slenderman had no voice of his own, but brought forth his memories of humans in the past, their voices and whispers and compiled them into something he could use. Without opening his mouth he used his memory of the voices to speak, just clearly enough for Conall to hear him.

"Conall… are you cold?"

He was a little more relaxed around the being this time around; he wasn't as worried about being murdered, or eaten. This wouldn't be the first time he'd gotten stuck out in the rain and completely drenched, but that didn't make it any easier to deal with, he'd probably get sick because of this. Conall paused when a voice came out of the being for the first time ever, "Uh…y...yeah..i'm wet too." He added, trying to hide the shock and surprised that he was feeling. 'Maybe speaking is hard for him? He doesn't have a mouth..' he thought reached out to palm the being's face without even thinking.

His wet hand felt over the being's flat face, silently trying to figure out how on earth sound was coming out of the thing. "How the fuck.." He whispered, completely enthralled at the moment. If this got his hand sliced off, then so be it. Sacrificed had to be made for science.

A shudder raced through the Slenderman as the human's warm hand pressed against him. It felt damp, and was probably cold from a human's standpoint, but everything about a human was warm in comparison to him. He allowed Conall to touch him for a few moments before speaking.

"Ever heard of personal space?" he repeated, using Conall's voice from two weeks ago.

"Oh—"He pulled his hand back quickly when he realized what he was actually doing, "Funny." Conall knitted his brows together and pursed his lips for a second before he quickly corrected his expression, letting it return to its neutral state. "So you…use the voices of others…okay." He nodded slightly, shoving his hands back into his pockets to hopefully warm them back up. He glanced away from the being to take a look down the streets in the direction that the bus usually came, silently hoping it would hurry up and come.

"Sorry for, uh, doing that." He apologized, returning his gaze to the being he was sitting next to. He guessed it was okay to get home late tonight, it was left overs night, so he didn't have to worry about making dinner for his grandpa. However, he did mind sitting out in the rain.

The Slenderman didn't reply to the apology, not feeling terribly obligated to do so. It wasn't really something that needed an apology for anyway. He turned his head in the direction of the bus, which was taking longer than it should. From the sound of it, there was quite a lot of people riding today.

He stood up from the bench, pulling off his black suit jacket in one movement. The rain fell through him just as it had before. He turned to Conall and took a slow step toward him. "Stay calm."

Conall jumped slightly when the being stood up and took his suit jacket off, "I'm calm." He kept his hands in his pockets and watched as the slender being draped the jacket over his shoulders. It was a sweet gesture and the young man did appreciate it, since the thing—the guy didn't have to let him use his jacket. He removed his hands from his pockets and pulled it around his body just a bit more, "Thank you." He murmured feeling a bit embarrassed suddenly.

The Slenderman listened, and wondered briefly if the human thought he was supposed to stay calm just from him standing up. He came closer and stooped over in front of Conall, placing his hands over Conall's. The contrast was intense, his own hands colorless and bony, fingers unnaturally long. Conall's were smaller, warmer and more proportional, with a healthy coloration despite the pale patterns. Beautiful hands, he thought.

He looked up. "Close your eyes… and stay… calm."

Conall hesitantly followed his command, shutting his eyes. The Slenderman had never done this with a human, but was fully confident it would work. He tightened his hold on the human's hands and teleported them into his bedroom.

In the room, Conall was sitting on his bed and the Slenderman crouched on his rug. He had never felt anything from teleporting other than the unexpected change of temperature and other surrounding sensations, and hoped that the human felt little else as well. He watched him as he opened his eyes.

He didn't have to open his eyes to recognize that there had been a change of scenery; he opened his eyes to see if he was just imagining it. No, they were definitely in his room now. Conall took a slow look around the room before his eyes found the being's face once more, a goofy grin spread across his face. "That was fuckin awesome." The words came out in a whisper and he pulled one hand free from the Slender's grip to cover his own face, still grinning like an idiot. "Man, where were you when I was going to school?" He chuckled, heart pounding from excitement this time around.

"I would have never been late to school with you around. I could have avoided the after school bullies as well." Conall shook his head, grin dying down to a light smile now. "Thanks once more."

Excitement was the last thing the Slenderman had expected, having had no experience whatsoever with being the cause of anything positive for a human. Seeing him this way, smiling and giddy and wishing he had arrived earlier, was strangely rewarding.

And something else, the pounding in his heart, that was unusual. There was no fear for him to taste, but he could feel it in his own chest the way he'd often felt when terrorizing prey. But this felt infinitely better.

He stood up, somewhat overwhelmed, and looked out the window just for something else to look at. Feeling satisfied was customary for him, but feeling good was… out of his comfort zone. He glanced back at him and at his coat, feeling exposed without it in front of a human.

Conall quickly sobered up and stood with the coat around him, taking it off of his shoulders to hold it up to the taller being. "Here." He smiled as the Slender took it from him, then walked over to his dresser while he peeled his soaked clothing from his body. He had a feeling the being wouldn't leave even if he asked, so he just went about his usual routine when it came to being rain soaked. The young man stripped out of his wet clothes and dropped them in a clothes hamper in the corner of the room, leaving on his boxers for obvious reasons. He strolled back over to his dresser and took the time to pick out some warm clothes to change into once he showered, silently hoping the being wouldn't troll him again.

The Slenderman gratefully accepted his coat, slipping it on and feeling whole again. And to his surprise, it held a faint amount of the human's warmth. But he was quickly distracted as he turned and saw Conall stripping out of his clothes. He stayed completely still, watching him until he left the room.

With the door shut he loosened up, still a little bewildered. He paced back and turned, looking for something else to distract him. He opened a few drawers but found nothing of interest aside from the knife, not bothering to close them after exploring. He headed to the closet to see if there was anything new, but it all seemed to be the same. There in the back of the closet was the suit again. He carried it to the bathroom door and paused, a bad feeling coming over him.

He stood at the door, replaying the string of events from two weeks ago and how terrible it left him feeling. Conall had been angry and afraid of him. And he seemed to be so comfortable now. The Slenderman had never needed to learn much, but he was now learning what not to do if he wanted Conall to remain comfortable. He returned to the bedroom and tossed the suit over the chair, looking through the closet again to preoccupy himself. After tugging out a few shirts and dropping them, he found an especially soft and worn t-shirt and curiously tried it on. He had to move slowly to avoid tearing it, and stood in front of the mirror with revulsion at his exposed midsection. It was far too short. He pulled it off and tossed it on the floor, returning back to his suit. He picked up one of the books and made himself comfortable on Conall's bed as he waited.

Conall took a speedy shower and when he finally left the bathroom he was dressed in a long sleeved shirt and a pair of sleeping pants. He quietly made his way down the stairs and greeted his grandfather, who was rather surprised to see him standing there in his PJ's. "Oh..you didn't hear me come in? I guess I..just, uh, forgot to call out like I usually do. I was in a rush to get out of my wet clothes." He explained as well as he could, having trouble just lying to his grandpa in general.

He escaped from his grandpa after a few minutes of speaking, grabbed a quick snack from the kitchen, and then ran back up the stairs with a bottle of water in hand. Conall didn't exactly expect to see the mess he returned to, but he did find some humor in it. "Have fun while I was away?" He asked, a goofy grin forming on his face once more, shook his head as he closed the door behind him slowly. He made his way across the room and paused at his dresser, using the comb on top of it to comb through his wet hair.

Tossing his book onto the bedside table, the Slenderman leaned back against the pillows in response to Conall's question. He was entirely at home in the mess he'd made. He sat up a little straighter when he saw him smiling.

Curious about the grooming, he rose to his feet and took a few steps across the room to the young man's side. Their height difference was large, the human's head barely meeting his chest. He found himself stooping over to watch the comb running through his hair, largely forgetting their exchanges regarding personal space. He began to raise his hand to touch his hair and finally remembered, instead dropping it to the dresser.

Conall stilled as the slender approached before he continued combing through his wet locks, wincing each time he encountered a knot. He was very much aware of just how close the other was and the fact that his previous request for space was being broken, though he didn't mind having to remind the other. "…You remembered." He noted after the slender's hand was lifted and then lowered again. He appreciated that the being didn't touch him, "…Uh.." Conall set the comb down on the edge of the dresser and thought for a moment. "You can..um…touch my hair if you want. You have my permission."

He gave a nod and turned slowly to face the taller being, motioning up to his combed back hair. "Go ahead. I know you wanna."

The Slenderman straightened up at the offer. He raised his hands up a little and then dropped them, still somewhat perplexed by the offer and not sure if there was something specific he was supposed to do. He finally let it go and raised his hands, first sliding his fingers over some of the hair, and then pressing the tips of his fingers lightly near Conall's temple and running them back through it. His hair was thick and smooth, the dampness remaining on his hands when he let go. He moved around back and ran his fingers up from the back of his neck, lifting the longer locks into strange angles before brushing it back. He felt as if he could continue for forever, but made himself stop after a few moments. With his hands at his sides, he could still feel the dampness.

"Th-Thank you…"

The young man would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the feeling of fingers in his hair. Conall just closed his eyes and let the Slender do what he wanted with his hair. He couldn't help but wonder if it was weird that he was enjoying himself so much, after all it wasn't like he normally let people do this to him, so maybe it was weird? He opened his eyes when the being's hands finally retreated and he took a moment to just regain his bearing, "Oh…uh—No problem." Conall gave him a quick thumbs up, ran his hands over his hair, then slipped past the taller being to start cleaning up the mess. "Were you looking for something in my clothes?" He hummed, trying to pick up the clothes, but ended up just kicking everything into his closet.

He'd get to those when he felt like it, "I see you took out my suit again. You really want me to put it on, huh?" Conall felt like he was starting to talk too much, it was something he did whenever he got a bit flustered around someone and blabbing really didn't help out the situation most of the time.

He looked away from Conall, beginning to feel foolish for having gone to such lengths to try and get him to wear it.

It took him a moment to formulate what he wanted to say. But he started to find it easier to lace together different sounds from past voices rather than taking whole words from different sources. He just had to be careful to keep from using animal sounds.

With one hand he gestured to himself. "Slendermen… like suits."

He rolled his eyes at the comment and walked over to the desk chair to pick up and slip the dress suit coat on over the long sleeve shirt he wore. He buttoned it up quickly, took off his sleep pants, and then pulled on the suit pants as well. "I'm not even going to try to find my tie and button up shirt, so this is as much as a treat as you're going to get tonight." He chuckled and turned to face the being once more, showing off the black suit his mother had given him. Conall used both hands to smooth the fabric down, "And that's what you're called? Slenderman?" He eyed the other for a moment, "I guess it fits…"

The Slenderman lost his ability to focus on anything else when Conall put on his suit. He could see his mouth moving but couldn't hear a word. His thoughts swarmed, having wanted to see him in the suit, and now so badly wanting to take it off him. No. He wanted to rip it off.

A deep growl curled out of his throat and he froze, quickly coming to his senses. He covered the lower part of his face to stifle the sound, which was starting to formulate into a raspy purr. He turned around; hoping that seeing something else would calm him.

Conall watched the Slenderman react and emit noises that he could only assume meant he was pleased, which was good…? He had jumped slightly at the growl and thought that he was about to be attacked, but then it turned into a purr, and he just cocked his head to the side. "You—"His voice cracked, "You okay there, buddy?" He asked sounding a bit embarrassed about the voice crack.

He unbuttoned his coat and hung it back on the chair while the being was busy dealing with what he assumed was excitement. He sort of wanted to tease the other about it, but he was unsure how he would deal with being teased, so he resisted. Instead, he just focused on changing back into his pj's.

After a moment with his vision blacked out, the Slenderman managed to get his voice under control. He stood there taking in the silence after his outburst, not wanting to turn around until he was sure Conall had changed out of the suit. When he finally glanced back he was straightening out the waist of his PJ pants. The Slenderman looked at him for a moment, watching his eyes flash up at him as he turned, and knew he still wanted to take off his clothes. It was time to leave.

He took a few long steps to the window and looked out at the now darkened sky and jagged tree line. He opened it, a crisp Fall breeze entering the room and moving the curtains.

To be continued.