Chapter Text
I flick my hand up and set my right turn signal on as I exit off of the main road and onto the interstate. I blink, then shake my head at myself and flick it back off as I see that there are absolutely no cars on the interstate, or on the main road. I forget sometimes that around here, only a select few are still driving around at the "dead hours" of the night.
I'm heading home from the little shop I work at, which is only a couple of townships and about 20 minutes away from where I live. I've been working a bit too late to get my overtime hours in lately so I can scrape up a little more cash, but it doesn't really matter that I have been getting back so late because I live close enough anyway.
As I merge onto the abandoned interstate, I squint as I plunge into a dense fog that covers me on all sides. Remembering what to do from my driver's manual (miraculously) I flick off my brights and slow down a little so I don't hit anything too hard that I can't see in time. A vision of a deer running across the road in front of me flashes through my mind, and I feel a little dread creep up on me from it. I just got this car, and I really don't want to have to repair the damage with the money I have been desperately trying to save up. I also remember to turn my emergency blinkers on just in case some idiot comes flying up on my ass per usual, then turn my focus back onto the road.
Winding around corner after corner of the deserted stretch, I feel completely bored out of my mind with my car radio being broken and my phone laying next to me, dead- yet charging. I turn around yet another corner, but something actually catches my attention this time. I get a mini heart attack as the vision of the deer comes back to me, but I relax as I spot a lone hitchhiker in the side lane. It's not a much prettier sight, but at least they won't totally fuck up my new car- hopefully. I curiously look at the guy, wondering how he got out here in the middle of nowhere in the first place.
He has a splotchy yellow jacket on over a black hoodie with the hood pulled up over his head and a pair of faded grey skinny jeans that seem to hug in all of the right places from what I can see. I quirk an eyebrow at myself. I must be desperately bored if I'm checking out hitchhikers on the side of the road. I laugh a little at myself but instantly freeze as he turns around to face me. I do a creeped out double take as I see a white mask covering his face from view. It looks like it is painted with black feminine features from where I am, and I take in the possibility of him coming from some type of Halloween party, but it is weeks away and his outfit looks a little too unintentionally ragged for something like that. He tiredly holds out his thumb and looks like he has almost given up pleading for a ride, but he straightens up a little hopefully as he sees my car through the dense fog.
I weigh the possibilities in my mind for a second. I feel like I should help him because there aren't any other cars that will be coming by for a long while, but then again, he’s wearing that creepy ass mask and ax murderer get up, so it goes against my better judgement. I know I shouldn't pick up hitchhikers- especially ones that look as shady as him. He might try to kill me for all I know.
I begrudgingly pass by him and try to push him out of my mind. I pretend I don't notice him take a few running steps toward my car in my rearview mirror and focus my eyes on the road again. I tell myself that it is too late and all I can do is to hope that someone else picks him up, because he looked pretty dead.
'Well they don't call it the dead hours for nothing.' I laugh at my own thought, trying to get myself to forget about it and push my guilt out of my mind, but my playfulness fades away instantly as I move my eyes back to the road after turning around the bend.
"Wait, what the hell?" I mutter aloud. As I look back at the road I see the masked teen standing there again with the same tired stature and pleading gaze that follows me as I move along the road. I grit my teeth as he meets my eyes and jerk my gaze away from him, determined to pretend like he isn't there. As I pass him by, I guiltily peek into my rear view mirror only to see him glaring straight at me.
Thinking I either severely fucked up or I was severely fucked over by fate anyway, I push the gas pedal a little harder and round the bend again. My eyes worriedly snap to the side lane again, and I sigh with sheer relief as I don't spot any murderous looking hitchhiker there. When I put my eyes back on the road again, my heart jumps into my throat from shock. Through the fog I can see him standing about 20 feet away from the front of my car with a very pissed off aura about him.
I snap out of my shocked and panicked state and slam my foot on the breaks, gritting my teeth in fear of hitting him. I jolt to a stop mere inches from his front, my headlights searing through the fog to shine upon the young man again and remind me of how unnerving his mask and outfit is. He crosses his arms and pops his hip out, lightly tapping his fingers on his arm. If I could see his face under that God-forsaken mask, I bet there would be an annoying ass smirk.
I roll down the window just a crack and immediately jerk my fingers forward to press the button that locks all of the doors as a safeguard, just in case he tries to come any closer. My panic morphs into anger the longer I stare at him, and I find myself getting more and more scared by the second.
"What the hell is wrong with you, dumbass?! You're goddamn lucky I saw you in time or you would have not only been reduced to roadkill, but you would have fucked over my car as well." I growl, but instantly feel a little bad- even though the guy probably isn't even human because he managed to teleport like three fucking times just to try and hitch a ride. I bring a hand up to my face, feeling my heart constricting my throat again. "Why the hell were you in the middle of the fucking road- and nonetheless on a fucking interstate?" I scold him, but still somehow sound incredibly relieved that he was okay- kind of like a mom using colorful language to talk to a reckless child.
"Needed a ride, what does it look like? You're the only person who has passed by in like three hours." He grumbles; his voice muffled a bit by the mask. It makes me realize just how quiet the world around me is right now and sets me even more on edge- which is just fantastic.
"Wonder-fucking-ful dude. But really, do you expect me to trust a, what, twenty year old (?) out here in the middle of the night- that I don't even know, might I add- and just let them into my car? I mean, jeez buddy, it really doesn't help that I can't even see your face. Did you think I would just open up my fucking door and give you a blanket and a cup of coffee saying 'welcome, random ass dude, make yourself at home'? You could murder me, or... worse!" I know I'm rambling, but I don't care- he's scaring the shit out of me, and I'm just trying to distract him so he at least gets out of my way.
The guy freezes and stares straight at me as I say my last sentence. My brave, angry face breaks and turns into a nervous scowl as I shrink back into the more shadowy part of my car and place my hand over the shift so I can back up if I need to.
He keeps picking me apart with his stare- not moving even an inch as he scrutinizes my features behind that damned mask. I decide that I should probably get the fuck outta here as quickly as possible, but before I can put my car into reverse, he mutters something so quietly that I barely even hear it even with the complete silence hanging over us.
"Good, at least she's not a fangirl..."
I immediately make a confused face and wonder what the hell he is talking about, but my heart stalls for a second as he starts walking to my passenger side window, pushing through the white tendrils of fog dragging along his jacket and jeans.
"Just- listen... please let me in, I just... I need to get back home. I don't even know where I am, or I would walk, okay? I'll even take off the mask if you want me to so badly..." He moves his hands around in the air a bit, and half pleads with me, signalling his defeat. I let myself stop and scrutinize his every move and word with a confused and accusing glare. He lets his arms slump down to his sides and sighs as he is left powerless except to watch me decide. I'm just a bit surprised because it actually seems like his pleading manner is for real- but it highly contrasts with the impression I first got from him. I only allow myself to come out of my thoughts when I see his mask move slightly as he tries not to look annoyed.
I let out a hard sigh and hold my hand to my slightly throbbing temple. 'I can-not believe I'm doing this.'
"Fine, just take the mask off... and turn all of your pockets inside out so I can make sure you don't have any weapons..." I growl with a defeated and tired look.
His mood seems to brighten a little, and he reaches up and slowly slips off the mask, knocking his hood off in the process. He threads a hand through his hair a little bit to fix it, then looks into my gaze with a slightly annoyed, but mostly exhausted expression. I can't help but gasp a little as I take in his features, but thankfully he doesn't hear me. He has messy brown hair and a clean shaven face that shows the slight outline of his high cheekbones. He has dark purple rings under his greyish brown eyes, but they still look somewhat bright despite the dull tired glaze over his irises. But seriously, if he's a ghost that’s come to kill me, I might just be fine dying by the hands of such a hot guy.
He stares at me for a second more, then looks down and slips his hands into his jacket pockets and rummages around in them, then unzips the jacket and brings the bottom of his hoodie up a little bit to show me he doesn't have anything in his waistband, but my eyes just end up fixed at the sharp edges of the defined V that slips just below the waist of his jeans. He only breaks my gaze when he turns and holds up both the jacket and the hoodie to show me the back of his waist, and then drops them down and pulls his back pockets out, but again, I'm focused more on the curve of his ass than his pockets. The thought of what I'm doing sends a little blush to the tips of my ears. I shake my head to clear my thoughts, then replace my bashful half-grin with a neutral frown before he turns around and spots it.
"Fine... I'll let you in- but if you try anything, I have, like, three cans of pepper spray in here..."
I reach into my console and grab one of the said pepper spray cans, then I move my hand a little and hit the lock/unlock button, still never letting my eyes leave him for even a millisecond. I hear the quiet 'click' of the door unlocking, which sounds painstakingly close to a gunshot in this silence, and wait with bated breath and pepper spray at the ready as I let this possible murderer into my safe haven.
He reaches his hand up to the door handle as slow as possible like I'm a skittish animal, then opens it with the same slowness and swings himself inside to sits down. His eyes stay trained on mine with a distrusting look that mirrors my own as he watches the pepper spray out of the corner of his eye.
I grit my teeth for a second, my hands fidgeting a little from nervousness, but I take a deep breath and open my mouth to speak. "So... where do you need to go?" I murmur without any suspicion hidden away from my tone.
"I need to head over to (y/township) and from the exit I can show you the way."
"... Alright." And with that, I make sure my car is in drive and my pepper spray is accessible before placing both hands back on the heel and pushing back down on the gas.
Masky's POV
I sigh with obvious annoyance and turn my head to look out of the window. 'I can't believe I just hitched a ride from someone. But... at least she was smart enough to be cautions of me though... and she isn't even a fangirl- so I guess it's a bit of a win win?' I roll my eyes at myself and see her eyeing me through the reflection in the window.
I look back at her, and watch her almost snap her neck trying to hide her staring. Even if I hadn't already caught her, the way her earring is swinging immediately tells me she just jerked her head back to facing forward. I look down at my hand and clench it into a fist, then let it relax again. I want to feel angry, but I feel myself getting worried- and it makes me even more frustrated.
I didn't think it was possible, but only a couple of hours ago I was making my way back from a big hunt that Slenderman had been organizing and planning for months. He mapped out exactly who we needed to kill, and what paths to take to get into the houses the people lived in. After making my way into the forest, everything suddenly went practically quiet and the inner compass that allows me to find the house through all of our visual and mental defenses went haywire for a second, then I lost it completely. It felt like all of my senses just suddenly shut down- which should never happen to someone that has been a CP for over a year. By then, you have all of your abilities and your body is physically used to using them all of the time instead of just in random adrenalistic spurts. You have to train you body to it. But it doesn't explain how they could have suddenly disappeared and left me wandering around for two hours.
I clench my fists again and try to concentrate on increasing my hearing to where I can tell exactly what pace her heart is beating at, but after twenty seconds of nothing I give up the physical strain. I can barely hear her breathing, but at least I’m left with some of Slender’s borrowed teleportation power, although it is incredibly weak. I catch her giving me a weird look out of the corner of her eye and shifting her body away from me, so I resort to looking back through my window for some sort of landmark.
A little pang of recognition goes through me as I see a dilapidated shack just barely through the trees as she starts to go up an incline. From here I can pinpoint where I ended up. 'I've somehow made it up on the North side... so I guess where I thought I was heading- to the house- wasn't really where I was going. But even so, I thought I had things mapped out. Something's just completely wrong.' I grate my teeth together in slight anger. 'How could I be so stupid? I should know the way.'
My face scrunches up into a pissed look that I really don't feel like hiding, even though she looks like she might ask about it from how her expression is getting more worried by the second.
"So... how did you get stuck on the road out in the middle of nowhere, if you don't mind me asking..." I let out a laugh through my nose. I knew she was gonna ask something.
"None of your fucking business." I growl, but can't help smirking as she shuts her mouth and looks away. Maybe she'll just shut up and leave me alone now.
"Damn... just trying to be nice... I am driving you... wherever you're going after all, and I still have this pepper spray that's just calling your name right about now."
"I don't like nosy people." I say sternly. 'If Hoodie were here I would let him be friendly. I don't want to deal with this shit. How does he do it?' Truthfully though, something about how comfortable I feel around her right now is just unnerving me on top of the fact that I'm lacking my usual defenses, but I'd rather die than admit that she is having any affect on me at all.
"Well fuck you too then...." She angrily mutters, turning around a corner with a frown setting into her lips and brow.
'Great, now she's pissed. Great going idiot.' I cross my arms and huff. "Look, I'm sorry... I'm just- I'm just mad that I got myself lost. That's why I was stuck out there." I mumble. God, I hate apologizing, but it slips out of my mouth before I can think to even be rude, which makes my eyes widen in shock. I furrow my eyebrows and gnaw at the inside of my cheek, shaking my head a couple of times to get myself back to normal. 'I can't feel comfortable with her- I've already messed up enough shit for today. I just can't get close to her; I'll have to kill her soon to clear up loose ends...'
Your POV and Time Skip
"Hey, um I need to go pick up some groceries after this, my parents asked me to before I left for work, but I forgot my list, and where you've told me you need to go is literally just a neighborhood next to mine, so... do you care if I stop at my house," ‘and grab a gun,’ "and grab it?" I don't really know why I bring it up, but something is tugging at my consciousness and telling me to get home ASAP. This guy seems harmless enough, and is most likely no match for my extensive self defense training- courtesy of a protective father- but I still feel wary of him.
"Sure, whatever."
I peek at him again through the corner of my eye. His expression has turned a little more sad than what it used to be, and the annoyed tone is almost completely replaced by a soft, almost sad tone that he adopted about halfway through the car ride. He plays with the strap of his mask absentmindedly as it lays in his lap and holds one of his fingers against his mouth like he is thinking. 'Well, at least he's not being a total dick, and he has been pretty chill this whole time for a roadside ax murderer lookalike...'
About a while back, I got him to let his guard down, and he has been opening up to me a little bit- slowly but surely.
"Will you finally tell me your name?" I ask in a soft, caring tone.
He turns his head a little and gives me a sideways glance. "...It's Masky. Yours?" He actually sounds like he cares this time, so I smile at what little progress I have made.
"(Y/n). Nice name." I joke, and give him a huge shit eating grin.
"Oh, shut the hell up." He rolls his eyes and lightly elbows my arm as it rests on the console. I laugh and fake a hurt look.
"Owww, that so hurt." I mumble sarcastically and rub my arm a couple of times as the sensor rigged cameras on the sides of my car keep me inside the line of the road.
He lightly laughs with me, then props his head up on his hand as he sets his elbow on the ledge to his right, looking out the window thoughtfully as we exit off of the interstate. My smile fades as I see that the somber look returns to his eyes and drags down his face.
I slow down and turn into my small neighborhood a couple of minutes later, the comfortable air fading a little bit as I notice that all of the lights are off in the houses we pass. Usually at least Ms. Richards is up reading around this hour, or the twins Cailin and Kalum are up giggling at random stories they tell to each other near a tiny lit candle on their windowsill, but everything is unnaturally quiet and dark.
I shake my head and try to write it off as it just being late, but it sticks in the back of my mind like an unwanted splinter. Even if it is late, at least some people should be up and moving in the suburbs. I turn into my fog covered driveway with an unnerved look and put the car in park, looking around us for a second before turning to Masky.
"You can wait here or come inside, whichever you prefer..." I shift my eyes around again and lightly wrap my hand around the pepper spray as I shove my phone in my back pocket. "My parents and sister should be asleep by now, so we'll have to be quiet, and I don't know if they turned the alarms on or what, so we'll have to maneuver around a bit carefully."
He looks up at me and quirks his eyebrows at my expression, then sighs and pushes his car door open. I think he notices my nervousness from the look he gives me, but I can't complain, I'm kind of glad he's coming with me, even though I was scared of him minutes ago.
As he shuts the door and walks towards the front of the car with his hands in his pockets, he suddenly stops and stands completely rigid. I grip the pepper spray and the handle of my car in a death grip as I watch him, but he just looks up at my house, then looks down the street, and then back up to the house with an alarmed look.
It scares the shit out of me, but I slink out of the car all the same. I feel a little more uneasy with every moment as I see his scared state, but hurriedly walk to the porch. Maybe this was a bad idea, but something makes me need to see my family okay with every rapid beat of my heart.
Masky just keeps standing there where I left him, looking at the door with a shaken expression as I walk up to him and stop. I open my mouth to ask him what is wrong, and almost think against it with the even more intense want to get into my house and near some weapons, but end up asking him anyway.
Masky's POV
"Is... everything alright?" (Y/n) asks- her voice quivering slightly.
I jump a little as she asks me, knocking me out of my trance as my head snaps towards her. My senses aren't back to normal yet, but I'm getting a really bad feeling from this street, and from what her expression looks like, she is too.
I take a deep breath and calm my expression so I don't scare her even more, but something still rubs me the wrong way. Nothing should set me on such an edge. Maybe I should just run- but for some reason I feel like I should stay with her.
"Y-yeah, just got a chill..." I try to act like I'm shrugging it off.
She gives me a weird look that says 'I don't believe you, but whatever I'm creeped out as shit so let's go' then nods her head halfheartedly and walks past me. She digs her keys out of her purse then inserts them into the lock as she reaches the door, turning it and quickly unlocking it.
I look around again for good measure to try and see anything out of the ordinary, like someone hiding in the shadows, but I don't see anything at first glance. As I go to turn back around, something catches my eye from another house. My eyes widen as I spot the top window of the house across the street. It is dark, but I can clearly see that there is something in between the bottom of the windowpane and the sliding window; a human head. Blood leaks onto the side paneling below the window in fresh rivers. I hurriedly try to focus my hearing on the house, and manage to just barely get something, albeit painfully.
"Where's that fuckin' girl, Jess? There was another one, you know the really pretty fucker of the two girls in the livin' room."
"I'll check the last house. She must'a hid there. Get Ben and Jake and meet me over there. And- wait, was 'at porch light on before?"
"Nah, we went in and out through da back, remember dumbass?"
I whip around to see that (Y/n) has gone into the house, and I run up the porch behind her, pulling my mask out and preparing myself for a fight. I need to find a weapon and quick.
As I run in, I stop for a second and let myself take in the gory scene in front of me, my feet freezing in place.
"No, oh my god..." She whispers to herself with shock written all over her face, the only sound between us besides the incredibly loud klang of her pepper spray slamming into the floor, completely forgotten now.