Chapter 5
He watched him go, having no intention of staying put. Conall began down the driveway and along the sidewalk, and the Slenderman travelled through the woods beside him. After a while they had reached town, and buildings began to appear between the woods and the road. The Slenderman carefully moved behind the buildings, but could see less and less of Conall as the area became more populated. A woman came out back from one of the restaurants and he had to back into a shadow to avoid being seen.
He waited out behind the Pharmacy as Conall went in, and then followed him to the Bakery when he continued to feel bad vibes wafting from his human. But the building had no way to look in, a brick structure with a solid metal door in the back and glass front windows that were exposed to everyone walking along the street. The Slenderman walked off and around a nearby building and watched across the parking lot, but the angle left him unable to see much of anything.
Conall retrieved his grandfather's prescription first before he sort of just lollygagged around the aisles, trying to gather up the courage to make his way back to the bakery. He didn't want to deal with that cake making fucker, but he knew his grandpa would tell him to just suck it up, so that's what he did. He pulled his hood over his head as he approached the bakery area in the back of the store, wincing slightly at the sight of the taller brunette who had a smug grin on his face. "Hey Cow boy. Your grandpa want his usual donuts?" David hummed, standing there with his arms folded on the edge of the glass display.
He gave a slight nod and kept his head down to avoid looking at the male, pretty much hiding under his hood while David went to picking out donuts, placing them in a paper bed.
The Slenderman fidgeted restlessly, not used to being unable to see something he was curious about. He straightened up when he saw Conall leaving the bakery, and hurried around the shopping center to catch up with him. Conall's pace was quick and his hands were buried in his sweatshirt pockets. The Slenderman caught up and began walking beside him, head turned down to see beyond Conall's raised hood.
"Conall?"
He lowered his head more than it already was to avoid letting the Slender see his face beneath his hood. He should have expected the being to follow him, considering that was something Slendermen tended to do, but of course he hadn't. "Yeah?" Conall raised his arm and wiped it across his face quickly, wiping away most of the tears that were on his face. The young man rarely let people see him cry or just be sad in general, so letting Slend see him was embarrassing, but he lifted his head to look up at the taller being. "I got a few extra donuts in case you want to try one." Con forced the smile and held back whatever tears that wanted to come. He wasn't going to cry in front of Slend, there was no way he was going to.
Straightening up with shock, the Slenderman bit back his anger. He desperately wanted to know who did what and plan out an appropriate form of retaliation. But Conall's smile softened him and he was left feeling sad and helpless.
He reached out and took the bag of donuts from Conall so he didn't have to carry anything, and held his hand tightly as they walked.
Conall was a little relieved that the being didn't try to drill him about why he was all weepy, and appreciated the hand holding as well. It was a sweet and comforting gesture, but he still felt like crying and ended up letting a few tears slip out while they were walking. The young man would be happy if he could just forget about all the times he'd been made fun of, bullied, and teased about his skin during school, but the people like David were making it hard. It was infuriating that such dumb words could break him down like this and it suddenly made him wish he could just run away from this wretched place forever. He would have left years ago, but he didn't want to leave his aging grandfather alone in the house, so he stayed to look out for him.
He rubbed his eyes to rid him of his tears, mentally telling himself to just suck it up, and get over his problems. Sadly, this tactic never seemed to work very well.
The Slenderman considered teleporting him home, but wondered if the walk and cool air had therapeutic qualities. There was also his grandfather who would likely expect his return through the front door rather than coming down the stairs.
They reached the front steps and the Slenderman squeezed his hand before releasing him. He returned the bag and in a blink he was gone, upstairs in the bedroom for whenever the human came up.
Once inside the house, Conall took his time while he was on the first floor with his grandpa, hiding under his hood till he was sure he wouldn't cry anymore. He went to making himself a cup of hot chocolate to drink while eating his donuts, mainly staying in the kitchen while he waited for the water in the teapot to heat up. He considered making a cup for Slend, but decided he'd let the being take a sip from his cup just to see if he even liked it hot chocolate.
After a short period of time, he made his way up the stairs with a cup of hot coco in one hand, and a plate with two donuts in his other hand. Con entered the attic after struggling with the handle for a moment, "Do you like hot chocolate?" He asked, looking up from the mug in his hand to take a look at the Slender, hood pulled back and no longer hiding his face.
Being an immortal should have taught him something about patience, but the Slenderman still paced about the room waiting for Conall to come in. He'd taken his shoes off and tried to read, but ended up tossing the book on the floor and pacing again. In his brooding he thought about returning to the bakery and scope the place out to see what was going on, but he didn't want to be gone if Conall came up quickly.
So he was at full attention when he finally came in. The sudden question caught him off guard and he looked down at the items silently. Finally he shrugged, not having been exposed to human consumables in a while. It was just nice that Conall had stopped crying, though he still wondered what had happened. He tilted his head as he watched him.
Conall made his way across the room, floor creaking with each step her took, then came to a stop to set the cup and donuts on separate stacks of books ontop of his desk. "Want to try it? If you like it I'll go make you a cup of your own." He stepped away from the desk and pulled his hoodie off to toss it onto the bed. He didn't really want to talk about the whole crying thing, but he doubted the Slender would let it go, but maybe if he just kept talking the being wouldn't get a chance to ask. "What about donuts?" He hummed, picking up the cup once more, still waiting to know if Slend wanted a taste of the chocolate.
The Slenderman approached him. He touched the back of his neck and stooped down, bumping foreheads with the human in an effort to show his support. He had a feeling he'd have to wait for freely-given answers, so he decided to let it go for now.
He raised up the drink and began to extend his tongue toward it, but paused before it touched. He quickly hid it again, his now visible mouth turned down awkwardly with embarrassment. He'd never really been too good at drinking things, not with a lipless, zig-zag mouth. When he was desperate enough he would taste something with a lick, but he knew better than to stick his tongue into someone else's drink. He stared down at the drink and flexed his mouth, making a sort of pouting expression as he tried to straighten it out. In the past he truly hadn't given a stick about drinking, but if Conall was offering him a sip he was going to…
He sipped the drink, mouth forced into a normal line for a single moment before it turned back to its usual shape. He curled his tongue around the melted chocolate in his mouth, utterly pleased as he swallowed. His mouth turned up into a goofy grin.
Conall closed his eyes and let out a light sigh while they bumped foreheads, enjoying the feel of Slend's cool skin on his forehead, opening his eyes once more. "Thanks, Slend." He murmured quietly, using a name he'd thought up a few days ago. He appreciated the act a lot, but he really didn't want to walk about his issues just yet, so the being would just have to be patient.
He chuckled a bit when the Slender caught himself before he stuck that tongue of his right into the cup, "Thank you." He smiled and watched at the being took another try at drinking. He watched with interest when Slend evened out his mouth just to take a drink, and then cocked his head to the side when his teeth returned to their jagged state. Con couldn't help but wonder how many parts of his body he could manipulate, but decided he'd ask such things at a later time. "I'll go get you a cup of your own." He nodded and took the cup back to set it back on his desk, leaving the room quickly to get the other a cup of hot chocolate as well.
He returned after a few minutes with another cup in hand, holding it out to the being as he approached. "Here you go.."
While waiting, the Slenderman had taken up Conall's drink in an attempt to keep it warm in his hands, but having a body temperature that changed with the surrounding air temperature didn't help it much. But the mug itself seemed to retain the heat until Conall returned, and he gave him back his drink as he was offered the other.
He stared at the human for a moment as he took a seat at the desk, contemplating the day before he leaned against the desk and looked out the window. There was nothing out there he hadn't seen before, but he was starting to get the feeling that humans didn't love being excessively watched. He dipped his tongue into the mug of coco, and then tried again to practice drinking with his mouth. It took work, but he supposed it was manageable. He looked at the drink, enjoying how it warmed him inside.
Setting it on the bedside table, he made himself comfortable and trailed a tentacle over to the desk to snag one of the donuts. There were two of one type so he took one of those, one with powder instead of frosting, and no hole. Bringing it to his hand and holding it up, he took a bite. Yes, biting was something he could do effortlessly, and the taste was fantastic. He leaned back as he chewed, staring up at the human food and the red, sweet 'gel' inside. Wow.
Conall took the remaining donut for himself and relaxed back into his old chair, mind briefly wondering how much longer he had till the wooden chair would break. He idly watched the Slender enjoy his donut and coco, barely looking down at his own things while he ate, and drank. He kept up the silence for about a minute longer before he felt the need to speak up again.
"What are we? I mean, are we friends or are we dating or…are we friends who just happen to make out sometimes?" Con set the remainder of his donut down, but kept his mug in hand.
The Slenderman had eaten rather quickly, and was licking the powder off his fingers when Conall asked. Was this what Conall was thinking about now? He sat up slowly, thinking it over.
He had never been in the position of having a label between himself and a human other than one; the hunter and the prey. But this? This was more complex. But he knew what he wanted, he just had to explain… somehow.
"Friends, I like…" He continued, quoting in Conall's voice. "Friends who just happen to make out sometimes' …I do not like. Intimately… I do not presume that you are mine. But I am yours."
He raised the mug to his lips and sipped while listening to Slend answer his question, though he did have a little trouble understanding. "So you don't agree with the making out thing, but you do agree with being friends..? But you are mine in an intimate way? So.." He paused for a moment, just trying to understand, "Dating?" He raised his eyebrow and set the mug back down on the desk.
"Uh..Dating is like…being in a relationship with someone that you like or care about in a way that's more than just friendship. It's more intimate than just being friends." He explained as best as he could to the other male just in case he didn't know what dating was, considering he hadn't said anything about it. "Sorry—I'm not very good at explaining things."
The Slenderman nodded once. A few years back, on a playground when he had terrified a boy until he couldn't move, a fearless little girl had run up to them and shaken him to his senses. The Slenderman was left to watch them run away hand in hand. After that, he had always seen friendship as something beautiful. If dating was more intimate than friendship, then it was something he would want.
His legs swung off the bed until he was sitting up, long fingers laced together on his lap. "You would like… dating with me?" Trying to understand it further he added, "This is common? Are you dating with your friends too?"
Conall covered his face while smiling and shaking a bit from silent laughter, 'He's so cute.' He thought, lowering his hands once he was sure he wasn't going to slip into some sort of giggle fit. "No, I'm not dating my friends." His hands flew up to cover his face and he hunched over, entire body shaking once more, this time it was from the thought of dating one of those druggy idiots. "N-No.." He heaved, correcting himself in the chair once more. "I like my friends, but I would not date them. I would like to date you, so I could hold your hand, lay on you, hug you, kiss you, and whatever else you're comfortable with. You don't do that kind of stuff with friends." Con chuckled, not even bothering to get into the whole 'friends with benefits' thing.
The Slenderman rested his knuckle on his face where his mouth would be, listening closely at what it meant to be in a relationship. It seemed that most of the things he'd mentioned were things they had already done. He realized with interest how little he really knew about human interactions, and wondered how many other things he did that had meanings he didn't know about.
But it was good, now. He could have done things that meant something undesirable, but it wasn't the case here and he was glad of it. And Conall liked what they'd done enough to date him, liked /him/ enough. He looked at the human, cocking his head to the side. Conall definitely didn't put up with anything from him he didn't like, and he was brave and funny and so cute now with all that laughing. Oh, he was so lucky.
He left the bed and came closer, kneeling on the floor since Conall barely reached his legs when sitting. Something about personal space flicked across his mind and was dismissed as he grabbed the human around the waist and pulled him off the chair into his arms. He stood up, lifting Conall up to the same height, nearly to at the height of the ceiling rafters. He had a broad, jagged grin across his face that he couldn't fight back.
Conall let out a light chuckle as he was lifted up by Slend, eyes glancing away from the being's face to see what it was like to be so tall. He definitely admired how graceful the being was with such long limbs, "The view up here is nice." He hummed, glancing around his room before he returned his attention to his grinning boyfriend. Con took a moment to hook his legs around the being's body, so he wasn't just hanging there. He stared at his smiling face once his legs were securely around Slend, then glanced around before he decided to do something silly. He brought both of his hands up enough to press them to either side of Slend's face, making an attempt to squish his cheeks.
The Slenderman barely noticed his face being played with, entirely distracted by the legs wrapped around him. How could Conall just /do/ that and not bat an eye? Slowly his focus shifted back to his own face, and the cute grin Conall was wearing. But he wasn't just going to let the human get away with teasing him and prodding him, especially up here where he couldn't escape. He let out a devious growl, hands moving to hold him up by his backside, and not failing to give it a squeeze.
He kept himself pretty composed while Slend was busy copping a feel on his derrière, though his upper body leaned back a few inches, and his eyes widening just a bit. That was better than making some kind of embarrassing vocalization, like squealing, or something along those lines. His hands went from squishing the being's cheeks to pulling on them, his own smile turning into a light smirk. "Having fun squeezing my ass?" He chuckled, waggling his eyebrows as his smirk grew wider.
The Slenderman nodded, taking some of Conall's voice to reply. "Having fun squeezing my face?"
He quit holding him that way, moving to hold him under his thigh and against his back. At the same time he tried to shake his head out of Conall's grip, but he had him good. So he opened his mouth and let his tongue slither out, wet and slippery as it curled between Conall's fingers. Hopefully it would be off-putting enough to deter him.
"Yes, I'm having a ball with your face. I don't normally get to be so close to it, so I'm taking full advantage of being up here." He snickered, then frowned slightly when the being's tongue slipped out of his jagged mouth.
"Blehh." He pulled both hands back, but quickly went back in with his already slimy hand, and grabbed his long tongue. Conall kept a steely grip on the slimy muscle, "This tongue of yours is crazy." Con let go of it after a minute and stuck out his own tongue in disgust, his hand now completely wet.
Instead of wiping it right it Slend's face like he wanted to do, he simply wiped his hand off on his pants leg, "Bleh."He repeated for good measure.
With amusement the Slenderman watched Conall grab hold of his tongue and deeply regret it, and decided it wouldn't be the last time he would taunt him with it.
He looked around, wondering how he could make use of Conall's interest in their current height, and finally considered the rafters. He brought Conall over to one and lifted him up to sit on it. He released his tentacles and kept his hands on the human's leg, leaving no chance of him falling off.
Conall smoothed his hands slowly over Slend's scalp, silently enjoying the texture of the pale skin. "I'm glad I met you. Heh heh..Not many people get to say they have a cool monster boyfriend," He paused for a second before continuing, "Not that I'd tell anyone about you." He leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to the being's cheek. "Not that anyone would believe me."
Listening to his musings, the Slenderman wondered if anyone would believe him if he told them. He didn't really care either way if Conall felt the need to tell another person or two, as long as his existence wasn't broadcasted far and wide. But he didn't share this with Conall, not deeming it necessary. If it came to it, maybe he'd share. But the whole matter was of little importance to him at the moment. He was content with spending the afternoon with Conall and not worrying about anything else.
Getting to spend such a long amount of time with the Slender had been surprisingly pleasant, considering the fact that Conall could barely take spending an hour with his friends. Maybe it was the fact that Slend was much more proper, albeit very careless when it comes to returning items to their respectable positions. He didn't mind things like that, though, who didn't like wearing their clothes after having them scattered across the floor?
The young man opened his eyes slowly and took a cursory look around the room, spotting the Slender sitting there at his desk. He closed his eyes once more and brought both hands up to rub at his face and eyes, then proceeded to stretch out on the bed. He moaned lightly and relaxed back onto the bed once he finished his routine morning stretch, then took another look over at the Slender sitting in his wooden chair at his pathetic excuse for a desk. "Good morning." He greeted and yawned a bit, rolling onto his stomach to stretch a bit more. "Still staring out the window, huh?" Conall wrapped his arms around his pillow and nuzzled his face into it like he was about to go back to sleep.
He had taken notice of how much Slend had been looking out the window, maybe he was getting tired of being inside the house? Con would understand if he wanted to leave for some amount of time, but maybe the being didn't realize that. He pushed up into a sitting position and looked around with a sleepy expression, brown locks sticking out in every direction in that classic 'bed head' look.
He needed to feed. Staring out at the woods, the Slenderman could feel hunger pangs, a strange tenseness that coursed through him to his fingers and toes. And his evening rests and even occasional sleep did little to cure his tiredness.
He looked over at his human, who looked sleepy and marvelous, peering up at him from behind a pillow. He leaned his head back a little as he looked at him, tangled in the blankets. The Slenderman had spent his first night resting beneath the bed at his own choosing. Under the bed was his favorite place to stay in all the times he'd stalked someone for extended periods. But after the lights were out, Conall had crept out of bed and curled up beside him on the cold wooden floor. The next night he tried to discourage the behavior, but once again Conall slept under the bed. After that he had decided it was better for them both to sleep in the bed where he could keep the human wrapped up and warm.
He looked back out the window as another pang of hunger distracted him, and decided it was time. He stood up and opened the window, turning to Conall. "Five days."
Conall sat there for a few seconds, drowsy mind working to figure out what on earth his boyfriend meant by 'Five days.' His eyes widened slightly with realization and quickly stumbled out of the bed, almost face planting when the covers attempted to sabotage him. He cursed a bit and freed his legs from his overly clingy covers, got back to his feet, and rushed over to hug Slend. "Okay." Con finally said hugging him tight, "I'll see you then." He grinned wide and pulled back to let him go do whatever it was that he needed to do.
The Slenderman had been worried that Conall might be unhappy with his leaving, but the response left him feeling warm and relieved. He bent down and laced his fingers with Conall's, nuzzling his messy morning hair. He caught an up-close look at his eyes, rich brown with dark lashes, and that charming hint of sleepiness he saw each morning.
He pulled away and slipped out the window, dropping lightly down to the grass and heading into the woods. He could feel himself growing hungrier at the prospect of feeding soon, but he also could feel that he'd never so strongly looked forward to returning to a place again.
Conall sighed a little once the Slender had gone and immediately went back to his bed to lay around in it for as long as he could.
His day continued on at its regular pace, got out of bed, took a shower, crammed some food down his throat, and then went to work at the library. While he was on break outside, his druggy friend who went by the name of "Jess", decided to call him up to see if he'd go to the house with him once Con was off work. "You know I get off at night, right?" Conall hummed, leaning back on the entrance stairs while he sat there, looking up at the cloudy sky. "I know, Conny, but Fred is sick…so he can't go. I left so, uh, stuff at house and REALLY need to go get it. So please, please, pleeeeease go with me?" Fred practically begged from the other end of the line, making Conall sigh loudly as a result. "Whatever, man. Just meet me at the usual spot and we'll go. I'll bring a flashlight."
He ended the call before Jess could say anymore and relaxed there on the stairs for a bit long before he had to go back to work. Once he got out of the library he booked it back to his house, told his grandfather what he was doing, then fetched a flashlight to go join his friend in the forest. Well, he would have met him there if Jess had gone, but when Con went around into the backyard he discovered the taller male standing there. "Couldn't wait?" Con frowned, flicking on the flashlight since it was completely dark.
Jess shrugged his shoulders to get out of answering, "Just come on." He waved Con off and turned to trudged off into the woods, trying not to look too paranoid while they made their way through the woods.
In the woods, a second Slenderman stood watching from the darkness. While Conall's Slenderbeing wore a grey tie, this one wore a black one. He straightened it around his neck and followed the humans before they went too far ahead.
Black Tie was not close to his destination and hadn't planned on stopping, but the temptation was too great when he saw the blonde walking alone down the street on the edge of the woods. While most Slendermen fed on a wide range of humans, there were some who were more selective. This one in particular liked them at the start of adulthood, cocky and overconfident, as he saw it. Yes, those were the ones he liked to bring trembling to their knees. Looking up at the moon, he knew he had enough days not to feel rushed. Black Tie followed the human at a rather close distance, keeping to the shadows but walking close enough for him to feel a strange prickling on the back of his neck. The young man turned back a few times and saw nothing, but began walking a little faster.
He continued to follow him, enjoying the faint taste of fear. But upon meeting up with another his age, the fear vanished. The creature bit back his disappointment as he studied the second, a smaller human with his hands in his pockets. The creature moved closer, studying the new one. He didn't seem quite so cocky, but he was sure that scaring the calmness off his face would be satisfying enough. It was a pretty face after all.
He followed them into the woods, tuning out their banter as they made their way to an old looking, likely abandoned house. Only once did the blonde turn around and shine the flashlight back his way, just a bit of paranoia staying with him from before. Black Tie stepped behind a tree until the flashlight turned ahead again and they went into the house.
"So where have you been these days?" Jess asked, flashlight moving around as he searched. He dug his hand in between the dusty couch cushions and pulled out the bag of goods he was looking for, stuffing it into his pocket without bothering to hide it from the other. "Find a new book you like better than us, or what?" He turned back to Conall, feeling infinitely better now that he had what he'd been messing. "Or have you gotten yourself a hot hubby who's keeping you busy?" he teased, laughing purely at the thought of Conall with anyone. He loved the guy, but figured it would be a long time before he grew the balls to find somebody. He looked around with the flashlight, wondering if he wanted to stay there to sample it or find somewhere else.
Conall found himself thinking about Slend for most of the trip through the woods, only breaking the thoughts to respond to Jess when he spoke. He did find himself glancing around every once in a while to make sure no one was following them, subconsciously hoping to catch sight of Slend. He shook his head slightly and made a mental note to ask the being about what on earth he did when he wasn't around.
He let out a sleepy yawn when they arrived at the house and made his way inside before Jess did, leaning up against the wall beside the door. "Sure that could have waited till morning.." he murmured and fought back the urge to yawn again, "Oh, " Con stood up a bit straighter when his brain registered the question, head tilting down in attempt to hide the sheepish grin that came over him, hunching his shoulders into a shrug. "I've found a few new mystery and romance books to read, so I've been spending my time reading those. The one I'm reading now has to do with, uh, a female that falls in love with this monster." He explained, pretty much lying out of his ass.
The young man's face went red at the last comment Jess made, thank goodness he didn't have the light shining on his face. "Psssssh, I wish." Was all he could really say, mainly because if he tried to say more he'd probably turn into a blubbering idiot.
Jess flicked the flashlight around, flashing past the window before he paused. Had he seen something? He pointed the flashlight at the window, but there was nothing there. His heart began to move just a little faster than before as he walked to the window, but there was still nothing there. Not that he could see much from this angle.
He turned to Conall, sure he was being stupid. "Yeah, you do wish. It's too bad the female isn't with you instead of the monster, maybe she'd get you out of the library more than me and Fred can. But for real, I don't know what you see in those romance nov-" He stopped short as he heard a light tap outside. And then another, with the faintest groan of someone standing on the wooden step outside the front door. He looked at Conall, eyes wide. "Did you hear that?" he whispered anxiously. "Con I think somebody's following me, I'm not even lying this time."
Outside the door, Black Tie rolled his tongue in his mouth as the blonde's heart worked a little harder. He took hold of the brass doorknob and turned it to one side, enjoying the low groan of rust on rust before turning it the other way. He wasn't ready to open it, instead relishing the spike in pulse.
"Holy shit!" Jess yelped, jumping back away from the door and darting from the stairs. "Conall, come on!" he shouted.
His hazel eyes tracked the taller friend towards the window, head tilting to the side slightly while observing his behavior. He shook his head at his and looked down at his own light, which was down cast on the floor.
Con had heard the taps outside and pushed off the door to step closer to Jess, "Yeah." He whispered right back in a calmer voice. He briefly wondered if it was Slend that was doing this, but surely he wouldn't do something as creepy as this? An eerie noise came from the door and Conall could barely react before the taller male disappeared out of his vision, and sped up the stairs. He turned and followed after the speedy blond, though he tried to be more careful while running through the old house.
"Calm down!" he called to Jess by the time he got to the top of the stairs. He was more concerned with reaching the frightened blonde than actually trying to see what was terrorizing them in the house. If it was indeed Slend, the being was going to get an ear full after this. Conall followed Jess into the bedroom he'd fled into and rushed over to him to see if he was alright.
Black Tie stepped through the front door as the second boy's heels disappeared up the top of the stairs. He took his time as he followed after. Standing in front of the bedroom door, he tried the knob. They'd locked it. But it was no problem. He stepped through the door and into the room, listening to the terrified gasp as he walked forward. Black Tie could hear them on the left and didn't look. Instead he walked to the far wall opposite of them and waited, listening to the heavy breaths and tasting the pure terror. But something was off. One of the humans was significantly less afraid than the other.
Jess gripped onto Conall's sweatshirt, staring wide-eyed at the creature's back. And it really had to be a 'creature' with those long, bony fingers and pointed nails, and the way it stooped over beneath the low ceiling. He watched it stand there, unmoving as it faced the wall. Finally breaking out of his terror, he glanced at the door for a second.
"We got to run," he whispered to Conall.
Well, this being definitely wasn't his Slend, but he still wasn't very frightened by this whole situation. The fact that he had his hunting knife also gave him some sense of security, though he knew it probably wouldn't do much good against this new Slender. He reached under the front of his shirt and pulled the blade out of its sheath, which was attached to his belt loops.
Conall gave a brief nod in agreement while holding his blade at the ready, turning his head to the side to look at his terrified friend. "I'm ready to bolt when you are." He whispered back just as quietly, knowing that the being was just toying with them at this point.
Black Tie kept his head to the wall, sensing them from across the room. The blonde had been so afraid that at this point the creature could have stopped now and been satisfied. But it was for the entertainment that he always lingered longer than he needed. Maybe he could get him to piss his pants and have to make up a lie for his mother when he went home. Or maybe he would tell the truth. That was always fun to listen to and to watch the reactions. Over the expanse of his existence he had left a legacy of tortured souls enough to fill an asylum.
The beast finally pulled himself out of his cloud of egotistical self-indulgence, just in time to hear the second boy whisper. That second boy with the two-toned skin… he couldn't remember another human so unafraid. He sensed his fear, yes, but there was no surprise in it, no 'fear of the unknown'.
The blonde bolted for the door and the creature whirled around, a tentacle whipping forward to catch him, but a small miscalculation sent the tentacle at his head, knocking him into the wall. He fell to the floor in front of the doorway and Black Tie turned to the other human.
He hadn't had to pull a smile out in a long time, but he figured it was time. His mouth split open into a grin and he teleported forward, slamming the brunette against the wall.
Conall felt Jess release his hold on his sweater before he bolted for the door, gripping the hilt of his knife tighter when he watched the blond get knocked down. This new being definitely wasn't as 'nice' as Slend had been the second time they met, but apparently they weren't all alike.
He tried to rush over to his laid out friend, but fear had somehow glued his feet to the floor, so all he could really do was stand there with surprised look on his face. His hazel eyes tore themselves from the blond in time to see the slender grinning at him, 'This cocky son of a bitch.' Was all Con could think before he found himself up against the wall, the back of his head throbbing from it hitting the wall. He opened his eyes when he realized he had them squeezed shut and glared up at the grinning being, emotions going from fear to just plain anger. "Wipe that dumb grin off your face."
Conall took this chance to jab the Slender being in the midsection, his eyes never left the other's face due to the desire to see what reaction it would have. Stabbing the guy probably wouldn't be a very smart thing to do, but at this point it didn't even matter.
The creature screeched, mouth gaping as the blade sunk into his stomach. Oh wow, did that hurt. He shoved his arm up against the human's throat to pin him while he attended to himself, looking down and pulling out the knife with a growl. Black blood spewed from the wound and onto the floor, but in a moment the cut was healed and the tear in his suit was gone.
Still, the area throbbed and he was livid. How dare a lowly human! How dare he?! He threw him to the floor and came down with him, pulling him up again by a handful of hair. He wrenched his neck to the side and bit down, pausing before he sunk his teeth in all the way. He could feel the life pumping through him, and knew that if he put it out he would suffer the consequences at the hand of his own kind. He pulled away and hit him before he stood. Blood began to seep from the human's nose, along with the streams of it trailing from the cuts on his neck.
He put a foot on the young man's stomach, pinning him. "Why fearless?" he croaked out. "Why… unsurprised?"
On some level, Conall had expected to be beaten up by this being, but being bitten wasn't something he truly expected to happen, though he probably should have. He winced and gritted his teeth together when he was pulled up by his hair, mouth opening wide to let out a pain filled scream when he was bitten. He balled his fists and punched futilely at any part of the Slender that he could reach, but ultimately ended up getting hit once more, and then ended up on the floor with a foot pinning him
He laid there for a moment in a bit of a daze before he focused on the being once more, "Why..?" he repeated in confusion before he played play what he'd just been asked. Con furrowed his eyebrows and scoffed up at him, "Wouldn't you like to know." He glared up at him; not caring if his words got him beat up more. This wouldn't be the first time he'd been beaten up and he doubted it'd be his last.
Black Tie bit back a hiss, staying silent instead. He smoothed out his face, cocking his head to the side as he looked at the bleeding mess under his foot. Nobody spoke to him like that, especially not a human. His tentacles unfurled, and one of them slithered over to the unconscious blonde, wrapping around his neck. Others made their way to join the first, curling around his throat and beginning to constrict like a python. The boy began to wheeze, struggling to breathe in his sleep.
The creature used his foot to turn Conall's head to the side, facing his friend, before pressing it back to his chest. "I would like to know, yes."
He tightened the coiling tentacles roughly, jerking the unconscious human a few inches into the air until his wheezing turned to coughs.
Conall's eyes widened at the sight of Jess being strangled by the being's tentacles, "O-okay, okay!" He grabbed onto Black Tie's ankle tightly, eyes never leaving the sight of his friend. "I—I, uh, have seen another one of your kind." He glanced away from Jess to look up at the faceless male, "The Slenderman is my good friend." Con explained, unsure if he should say that they were dating, or not. He didn't know if there were rules about interacting with humans, but if there were he didn't want to see Slend get in trouble because of him. "Now please let go of him! He can't breathe."
The creature stared down at the human, absolutely perplexed. He thought he was 'friends' with one of them? He would have deemed the boy mad or lying if he hadn't referred to them as they referred to each other. What a shocking concept, a Slenderman letting a human warm up to him. Just that the human knew what they were called was unsettling.
He released the unconscious boy, more out of disinterest than as a reply to the other's request.
There had to be a reason for this. What was the Slenderman in question trying to achieve? He studied him, trying to figure it out. Beneath the blood and messy hair, the human was still easy to look at. Maybe that was it. It wouldn't be the first time a Slenderman had found humans attractive, but Black Tie knew well enough why they didn't have their way with them. He knew the horrid, sickening taste that fear of defilement brought about. It was unbearable, and even though he himself wasn't opposed to them, he wouldn't be able to stand it. But coaxing one to be comfortable and willing? It certainly seemed like a lot of work just for a lay. He continued to look at the dark haired human. Hmm, maybe it would be worth it.
The creature spoke with a low, humored tone. "You let him fuck you?"
He stared up at the slender while the being seemed to think things over in his head, though it was hard to tell with the whole lack of a face. He released the others ankle and slowly brought his hand up to his aching face to wipe the blood from his face, he wasn't even going to try to touch his neck which seemed to be bleeding freely.
Conall paused in his wiping when the being spoke, his face going red seconds after he realized what he'd just heard. "No." He squeaked out, and then cleared his throat before he cleared his throat, which was rather painful. "NO!" Was the only thing he could really get out at the moment, still too surprised that this Slender would ask such a thing. "No way."
The beast cackled at the human's embarrassment. Well, he wasn't going to say anything to put a damper on the other Slenderbeing's pursuits. Though he supposed he'd already probably put a wrench in his plans. The human would be asking plenty of questions after this. Curious whose territory he was in, he decided to ask.
"His tie. Describe it."
He flinched under the being when he cackled, half expecting to get kicked or something, but was relieved when nothing bad happened. 'Relax' he thought to himself and squeezed his eyes shut, "Um…it's just gray..?" He opened his eyes slightly and glanced over in Jess' direction to see if he was alright, then closed them again. How was he going to get Jess home after this? How would he even explain to his grandfather the marks on his neck or the blood that was all over him now?
All humor was lost when the Slenderman in question was identified. Not in his wildest imagination could he picture the Gray maliciously seducing a human. No, this had to be something else. Whatever it was, he was sure now that if the other Slenderman saw what he was doing, there would be no easy apologizing.
The other Slenderman wasn't as tall as Black Tie, nor was he known for aggression, but he wasn't weak either. In a fight he imagined being the victor, but it might be possible for things to turn the other way if the other Slenderman was angry enough. The Grey was a deeply private creature, and Black Tie was standing dead center of his territory with his heel dug into something very personal.
The creature lifted his foot quickly, backing up to the wall before he teleported off.
To be continued.