A/N-I'M SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING! Okay, no more cap locks spamming for me. Yeah, I blame Slender Sickness for my lack of updates. Forgive me. -_- Stupid health…

Slendy slowly made his way back to Ellaina. He refused to allow her to know what was wrong with him. He need not bother her with the fact that the chemical was…no, he didn't want to think about it himself. Avoiding the problem wouldn't solve it, he knew, but this was supposed to be a vacation from problems. He could focus on the chemical that was slowly destroying his blood once they got home, well, if he lasted that long.

He picked up the discarded scarf with a tendril and put it back in place as he approached Ellaina. He could not very well allow her to see what was happening to him. It was hard enough trying to hide the pain from her; she need not see what was causing it.

"I'm guessing the security guard is dead?" Ellaina questioned casually as he took her hand and led them outside. She did not like the idea of the man being killed just because he saw something that he shouldn't have. There had to have been a better way to deal with him. Slender knew how to enter people's minds. Couldn't he have just erased the man's memory?

Her thoughts were rather loud, making them easy to pick up on. This trip to the Opera House had gone all wrong. This was supposed to be something fun for her, a way to celebrate their engagement. Instead it had turned to something foul. I didn't have a choice, Ellaina.

"I don't believe that," Ellaina replied, not looking at him. She was focused on trying to find the way back to the hotel. "There had to have been something you could have done. You can go into people's minds. Why not just erase his memories?"

Must we stay focused on this? I brought you here for a vacation.

"Yes, you brought me here for a vacation, and you've killed someone."

Slenderman stopped, pulling her into an alleyway. He pulled the scarf away as well as the fedora, not really stopping to think. The light here was low, but she would most certainly be able to see his face, but he hadn't realized that. You knew full well what you were getting involved in when-

"What's wrong? Are you sick?" Ellaina asked, all thoughts of her anger at him going away when she saw his face. It was not the pure white that she was accustomed to. Her hands slowly came up to trace the lines of black that were scattered across his face. There was something very wrong about how they felt. They were hot to the touch, hard to the touch. When he pulled her hands away, saying it was nothing, that only confirmed it. Something was indefinitely wrong. "Slenderman, what-what's happening? Tell me the truth."

How was he supposed to tell her that he was dying? He could not bring himself to do so. He had felt what it was like to watch someone that was cared for die. There was no way he was going to let her go through the same pain. He would need to tell her something, though. It is nothing you need to worry about, my Little One. This will pass in time. It was a lie, but it seemed to put her at ease. But, would it make it worse for her not to know the truth when the time did come? He could not bring himself to tell her though. Footfalls pulled his attention away from his thoughts. Someone was coming toward them, a gun drawn. The man did not get the chance to harm either. The couple disappeared, leaving behind a very confused killer.

Slenderman knew that he should not have teleported them away. Anytime he did this it caused him pain. This time, though, the pain was far worse than anything he had felt before. He tried to ignore it, but that was not working. This pain was something worse than anything he had ever felt, far worse than when he had been made into a monster. He sat down heavily on the bed, breathing hard, but still trying to hide it from Ellaina.

He was not doing a very good job at it. She was at his side, asking what was going on. She was able to sense the pain he was going through, and it made her sick. She knew that he had to be lying about what was going on. This could not possibly be normal for him. Never had she seen him suffer like this before. Then again, she really hadn't known him that long. Perhaps it was normal and she had simply never been around to observe it. That did not make it any easier to watch him suffer, though.

Well, she knew that he was in pain. The look of concern on her face and her continued questioning of what was wrong certainly confirmed it. He should have known that she would find out eventually. Still, she did not need to know what the real cause of the pain was. She could remain blissfully ignorant. She would be able to remain at least somewhat happy that way, he figured. Slendy still did not want her to see him this way, though. He always had been strong in front of her; she need not see him in this weakened state. There had to be some way to have her leave him alone. Then, he had a wonderful idea.

Ellaina, I have a request for you, he stated, trying his best to keep the pain from his voice. He was failing miserably.

"Anything," she replied. It was rather annoying to her that he still hadn't told her what was wrong. There had to be a reason why he was feeling this way.

Go stay with Anne for the night.

"What?" Ellaina replied, completely confused. Why was he sending her away when he was in so much pain? She should stay here to try to help him. If she could not ease the pain, the very least she could do was be here to offer him comfort. "Why?"

He forced himself to sit up, ignoring the pain-which was lessening in its intensity, thankfully. At the very least, the pain had returned back to its now-normal level. Slendy replied, Anne says that the bride to be must spend twenty-four hours away from her future husband before they are to be wed. I would like to marry you tomorrow. He figured that sooner was better than later. There was no way to tell just how long he had left, and he did not want to die before making her his wife. Again, he knew that he was being selfish, but he just could not help himself.

Ellaina looked at him for a long moment, before smiling and hugging him, completely and utterly forgetting that he was in pain. She looked up at him, kissing his cheek. "I love you. But, I have so much to do now!" She got up from the bed, making her way to the door. "Anne and I will need to go shopping tomorrow. I'll need to buy a dress and get you a ring and…" Her face dropped.

What is it? Slender questioned, forcing himself to his feet to come and stand in front of her. He brought his hand to her face. He preferred to be focused on her rather than his pain.

Ellaina wouldn't look at him, rather embarrassed by the whole thing. "It's nothing."

He made her look up at him, searching her face. Come now, tell your Slenderman what is wrong. You know I will find out what it is.

She wouldn't look him in the face, focusing on his tie instead. "Well…"

Look at me and tell me what is wrong, my Little One, or I will need to punish you.

Ellaina looked up at him, tilting her head to the side and laughing slightly. "Punish me?"

He came forward, making her step back until her back came against the door. His tendrils came out, trailing over her back to find those little areas that made her sigh and tremble. His hands slowly moved up her body, coming to cup her face. He began kissing her with fervor.

Ellaina sighed, surprised by his actions. This was not what she had been expecting when he said he would need to punish her. Then again, if this was what he considered to be a punishment, she would most certainly need to be naughty more often or not tell him what he wanted to know more often. She brought her own hands to his face, tracing the dark black lines, not really knowing what that blackness was. Her cold fingers against the hot flesh made him press her closer to him.

Slendy pulled away from her, needing to before things got out of hand. Tell me what is wrong, or I will not touch you again.

She glared at him. "Oh, really?" She came forward, her hands working at unbuttoning his suit coat. He allowed her to slip it off of him, keeping a close watch on her actions. She next went about trying to remove his tie. After some struggle, in which Slendy only laughed at her attempts, Ellaina managed to remove it. Her hands slid up his chest slowly, coming to stop at the top most button of his shirt. She unbuttoned it and went to the same to the next button.

His hands stopped her, holding both of her hands tight in one of his. What are you doing? It was not like he didn't enjoy this, but there was no telling if the chemical was visible on the rest of his body. He knew that it may not bother Ellaina, but he did not want to see it for himself as he knew what it meant for him.

Ellaina smiled up at him, trying to free her hands from his grip. "You may not want to touch me, my love, but I want to touch you."

Gods, how tempting it was-how tempting she was. He would not go for it though. You will have all the time you wish to touch me on our wedding night, he replied softly, letting her hands go.

She blushed scarlet, pulling her hands back to herself. She hadn't been talking about…well, that. She had only meant that…she shook her head. Ellaina was embarrassed, not even able to look at him. He must think her to be just like any average woman. "I-I didn't-I wasn't talking about that."

Slenderman laughed. Hmm, and what would that be, my sweet?

Her eyes went wide. "You-you know what I'm talking about. Don't-don't make me explain it!"

The way I see it, you have two choices. As you know I do love knowledge. You can either explain what you mean or tell me what had you preoccupied before this little intimacy started. Slendy internally smiled. Either way, he would win. She could either try to explain what that was-he knew full well what it was-or he could learn what had been bothering her.

Ellaina crossed her arms over her chest. "You are so evil. Fine, I'll take your second options because I know you understand the first." Hearing him chuckle only made her growl at him. "You say you want to marry me tomorrow. I don't have enough money for a dress and a decent ring for you."

Is that all it was, money? Slendy replied, surprised. He picked up his suit coat, pulling out another one of those envelopes. Here, take this. It should be enough.

She looked into the envelope and quite nearly passed out upon seeing how much money was inside. Her eyes went from the money and back to him. She took the suit coat from him, looking it over, turning it around to look at it from all possible angles.

What are you doing? Slendy asked, perplexed by her actions.

Ellaina looked back up at him, tossing the suit coat onto a near-by chair. "I was trying to find the bank you hide in your pocket." She shook her head, smiling. She turned to the door, knowing that the sooner she left, the sooner the twenty-four hour waiting period would start.

I don't get a good-bye? Slendy questioned, using a tendril to grab her wrist and stop her at the door. When she stopped and turned back to face him, he came to her. It still did not seem real, that this wonderful human woman was willing to be his. He stole a quick kiss, before telling her to get going.

A few hours had passed, in which Slendy had managed to doze off, when a knock came at the door. He woke up, none too thrilled with someone waking him. He looked at the clock, seeing that it was three in the morning. Who in blazes came to visit at this ungodly hour? He forced himself to his feet and went to the door. Slendy could sense who it was: Anne. Groaning in annoyance he opened the door, not bothering to hide his face and pulled her inside.

Why are you here? Slendy questioned, not bothering to turn on any lights. He headed back to the bed, lying down on it. He was tired, an odd concept for him. He blamed the chemical.

Anne sighed happily. "I'm here for the same reason Ellaina is staying with Totheark."

It took him a moment to process that. When it did come through, he sat up. The lights came on of their own accord-well, he made them inadvertently turn on. He asked you to marry him?

She blinked against the sudden light. "Well, yeah, he kinda had to. I am pregnant with his kid."

Oh, well that makes sense. Again, it took him a while to understand what she had just said. Then, it fully came to him-the meaning of her words. He was on his feet now, not really knowing what he planned to do. There were too many emotions warring inside him. He did not notice the way Anne looked at him when she saw his bared chest-he never slept in a shirt. I am going to kill that boy. I taught him better than this.

"Slenderman, what's wrong with you?" Anne questioned, trying to get through to him. She had seen him before without a shirt. His skin had been pure white, and now it was not. What should have been normal veins and arteries were now black. It was not normal.

His thoughts were preoccupied, so he spoke the truth. I am dying. The chemical is destroying my blood, but that doesn't make any difference. You-

"What?! You-you're dying? Does Ellaina know? Does Totheark know?" Anne interrupted him.

He froze. What had he just done? No one was supposed to know. They were all supposed to remain ignorant of this knowledge. It was too late now, though. He could just erase her memory of this, but that didn't seem like the right thing to do. He replied, allowing the pain from the chemical to come through in his voice, Please do not tell them, Anne. Please?