___________________________
*Lucy's POV*

One of the best days ever with Jack and it lead me to being sick for three days. Three long, miserable, painful days. Usually, when I'm sick, it's very short-lived. But this time I jinxed myself. Jack's been gone for two days now, and even though Slender says that he's fine, I'm still worried. I have had my head in this porcelain throne for nearly ten minutes, vomiting up who knows what, when there was a knock on the door.

"I'm busy," I yelled, pulling my head out of the porcelain bowl and sitting back against the wall.

"It's Clock, Lucy. Are you alright?"

"What do you care!?" I felt another urge building up in my stomach.

Clock opened the door and walked in, closing it behind her. My face was right back in the toilet. Clockwork grabbed my hair from the sides of my face and pulled it all back behind my head.

"Get it all out, Lucy." Clock said soothingly as she rubbed my back.

"Since when did you begin to care again?" I mumbled out.

"I never really did stop. It was childish the way I was acting, and I'd like to quit arguing with you and Jack. I said some pretty rude things the other night and I feel like I forced him to take that bet." Clock sighed, her hand still sliding over my back.

"Bet? What be-" I was cut off my stomach lurching again.

"Shit. Never mind. Forget I said anything." Clock replied frantically.

A fast set of knocks hit the door, "Lucy! I think we've got it right this time!" Devin opened the door, "Am I interrupting something?"

"No. If I take that will it actually work?" I tipped my head over to see Devin, standing behind him was Papagrande.

"It'll work dear," Papagrande assured me.

"Good, give it here." I snatched a pill and thick red liquid from Devin's hands.

I set the pill in my mouth and washed it down with the liquid. It tasted bitter and strong. The last time he said that he got it right, I ended up hiccuping for over four hours and I felt even worse than before.

"How long before it kicks in?" I asked, sitting back against the wall holding my head in my hands.

"Maybe an hour. After that, you shouldn't experience anymore sickness." Devin stated.

"That's too long to wait," I whined, twirling my hair between my fingers.

Papagrande sighed, "It's the best we can do, Luciana. At least the sickness will be gone and you can do your magic training today." He grinned.

"Joy." I rolled my eyes, "Is Jack back yet?"

Devin shook his head at me, "Still nothing. You'd like to think he'd be here since you're sick." Devin chuckled.

"It's just a little sickness, he knows I'm going to be fine." I groaned.

The two of them left the bathroom. Clock stood up and told me she had to get somewhere and left immediately. I knew she didn't have to, she was just avoiding our conversation about this 'bet'. I'll get to the bottom of it.

******

Two hours later and I'm feeling the best I have ever felt. Thankfully, this time the medicine worked. The last time I felt ten times worse than before. Papagrande was trying to get me back to better health immediately so we could get on with training. What really sucked was I couldn't do combat training unless Jack was at the mansion or in the arena area. If I get stabbed or anything, it could make him falter and screw up his mission. I was okay with just sticking with magic for now. This would be day one for practice, and I was more excited than ever.

"Lucy, follow me to the back room. Everybody else should be running the course twice before physical training." Slender announced.

I followed the magician and the slender man towards the back of the arena and through a door. We entered a long hallway with a red door at the end.

As we walked, Papagrande talked to me, "Magic training can range anywhere from five to twenty-two days before the final form is released. Sometimes only one spell will work with a single person, sometimes dozens will."

"How many spells work for you?" I asked him curiously.

Papagrande grinned, "All of them."

I rolled my eyes, "Of course they do."

Slenderman opened the door and gestured Papagrande and I to walk in first. We stepped into the black painted room with black hardwood stained floor. A single light was lit above a podium in the center of the room. On that podium, a book rested. The book looked ancient, the pages were yellow and frail and the book cover was a worn out ripped brown leather.

"What's this?" I asked, walking over to the book.

"That would be the Book of Spells," Papagrande announced with a cheesy grin on his face.

"Kind of a cheap name, don't you think" I chucked, running my hands over the worn pages.

"In all honesty, nobody can read the title. The rest of the book is written in English. Ben couldn't find any translations online." Papagrande chuckled, "Are you ready?"

Hesitantly, I nodded.

"Alright, the first one is going to be a healing spell," Papagrande announced as he walked over and started flipping through the pages.

******

"I getting irritated," I said out loud.

"I know, Luciana, I know," Slender replied.

I sat back on the folding chair in the room. We have gone through over half of the book, yet nothing has happened.

"Am I doing something wrong?" I groaned, rubbing my eyes with frustration.

"I don't think so," Papagrande said as he flipped through the pages.

A sharp pain emitted through my upper arm. I yelped and lifted up my sleeve to see nothing was there.

"What's wrong?" Slender asked me.

"Does Jack always get wounded in some way? If so, this whole linked thing is going to suck." I sighed and sat back in the chair.

Papagrande chuckled at me, "He likes to fight with his food."

"I did not need to hear that." My hands flew over my ears.

"You're going to have to get used to it, Luciana," Slender said bluntly.

"I am used to it. In fact, it doesn't bother me as much as it probably should. I just don't need to hear details." I rolled my eyes and stood up, "What next?"

Papagrande closed the book, "We're done for the day. I need to figure out why nothing has worked for you yet. We may have to force it tomorrow."

"Alrighty then. I'll be in my room if you need anything." I stood up and stretched.

As I left the magic room, Slender followed me.

"Need a lift?" He asked reaching his tendrils at me.

"Sure. Bring me to Jeff. I'd like to see him now that I'm not sick." I grinned, allowing the black tendrils to wrap around me.

In a few seconds, we were outside of Jeff's bedroom. Slender blinked away and I knocked on the door. Slowly the door opened, exposing Jinx.

"Hey, Jinx. Is Jeff around?" I peered past him into the pitch black room.

"I'm in here, Lucy. Let her in." Jeff said from the other side of the door.

Jinx opened the door all the way and I took a step in. Half of the room was rather messy while the other half was spotless. Of course, Jeff was sprawled out on the messy side of the room on top of his bed.

"How are you feeling now?" Jeff asked, sitting up and resting back on his elbows.

"So much better than the past few days, that's for sure." I giggled as I sat down on his bed.

Jeff has been keeping quiet and staying in his room at all times. Usually, he doesn't want to be disturbed but made an exception for a few of us. Ever since the encounter with Liu, he's hasn't been quite the same lately. Jeff only leaves his room to use the restroom, and then he comes straight back in here.

"I actually have a question for you," I cleared my throat, "Have you heard anything about this bet? Clock said something in the bathroom and then she immediately dropped it when I questioned her."

Jeff shook his head, "Not a clue. I haven't left the room much and I only talk to you, Slender, and Dollmaker. Well, Jinx too, but he doesn't respond."

We both looked over at the Native American. Jinx's arms were crossed in front of him, staring at us.

"Do you know anything?" I asked.

Jinx nodded.

"Great. The mute knows about it. How does that help me?" I flopped back on the bed and pushed my fingers through my hair.

Jeff chuckled, "Now you know my pain."

Jinx walked over in front of us and pointed down at the floor.

"What is he saying, Jeff?" I raised an eyebrow at Jinx before turning my attention to Jeff.

"Toby's and Clock's room is below us. Maybe he's suggesting you go and talk to them. Am I right, Jinx?" Jeff looked at the muscular man.

Jinx nodded.

"That was the last thing I wanted to do." I rolled my eyes and stood up, "But alright. If you need anything, Jeff, don't hesitate to ask." I flashed the killer a smile before heading out the door.

I know curiosity killed the cat, but I had to find out what this bet was. By not knowing anything about a bet my own boyfriend accepted, it kind of makes me feel out of the loop. Fitting in around here wasn't as easy as it seems, and whatever this bet is about really shows that. I wasn't going to stop until I knew what this bet was. Satisfaction is what brought that dead cat back.

******

"I-I-I'm not s-saying a w-word." Toby huffed.

"You're both too stubborn for your own good!" I yelled.

"Go ask LJ, he's the one who made the bet in the first place. Don't just come in here yelling at us, Lucy. We didn't do anything wrong. In fact, you yelling at us really doesn't help our friendship at all." Clock deadpanned.

I have been in this damn room for ten minutes, and they won't tell me a single thing except that LJ is the one who made the bet.

"At least tell me if it's something I should worry about!" I looked back and forth between Clock and Toby. Neither one of them said a word.

"Some friend you are." I left their room, slamming the door behind me.

As I left the hallway, I walked into the dining room and sat down on a chair at the table. I looked around and realized I wasn't the only one there.

A man with a light gray, almost white hoodie on was standing by the door. His eyes were a piercing blue and his hair was as white as snow. What really struck me about this man was his skin. He had dark gray skin with a white skull on his face. Next to him stood a scrawny dog.

"I haven't seen you here before. Are you supposed to be here?" I stood up from the table.

"Yes. I was brought here by someone. Do not worry about me, I mean no harm." He replied softly.

"In that case, I'm Luciana." I walked over and held my hand out.

The boy flinched backward and stared at my outstretched hand.

"Okay then." I pulled my hand back and looked at the dog, "What's his name?" I knelt down and started petting the matted fur of the dog.

"Cinder." He said, looking down at me.

"What's your name?" I stood up and smiled at the boy.

"Hobo." He whispered.

"Your name is Hobo?"

He nodded.

"There's my Angel." Jack's voice sang out behind me.

Immediately I felt butterflies flutter around in my stomach, my heart skipped a beat. I turned around and bolted at Jack, running and jumping into his arms.

"You're back!" I squeezed him in between my arms, afraid that if I let go he'd leave again.

"I am. But I'm a little busy right now. You can come with if you want. I don't think Slender will mind." Jack stated as I still hung onto him. He looked over at Hobo, "Come with me. Bring the mutt, too."

"Jack. Attitude." I warned him, slapping his arm.

When I pulled my hand away, Jack's blood was on my fingers. I grabbed his hoodie and looked.

"His dog tried to eat me for dinner." Jack dryly joked.

"Not funny. You need Devin to look at that." I said, poking around at his damaged skin.

"I will once I deal with these guys. Are you coming with?"

"Sure. I've got nothing else to do. Oh, by the way, remind me that we need to talk later." I gave Jack a quick peck on the side of his mask and started my way towards the study.

The four of us walked down Slender's hallway in silence. I had my hand in Jack's and every now and then he'd squeeze my hand tightly. Jack was walking in between me and the guests, probably scared that Cinder is going to snap at me. Jack knocked on the door and it opened immediately.

"Hello, Lucy. Did you need something?" Papagrande asked from next to Slender.

"Nope, just came along with Jack if that's alright." I smiled at both Slender and Papagrande.

"That's fine." Slender replied shortly, "Do you know why you are here, Hobo?" Slender folded his hands, staring at the skull-faced boy.

"How did you know my name?" Hobo back away slowly.

"There is no need to be frightened. I'm not going to harm you or your dog." Slender replied gently.

"I might," Jack grumbled quietly next to me. I elbowed his ribs.

"I don't know why I'm here. Can I go now though?" Hobo asked Slender.

"Where would you go? From what I've heard you've been living on the streets. Jack went to find you and bring you back here so I can make a proposition for you." Slender stood up and walked around his desk.

"I'm listening." Hobo stared at Slender.

"You can stay here and have food, clothes, shelter, a bed and whatever else you want that this mansion has to offer on one condition." Slender folded his arms, "You do as I say. Missions will be given to you and you must complete them. Training will be required so you can at least help the proxies out when the time is needed. Training is also for keeping yourself in the best shape."

"And what if I say no?" Hobo asked, running his hand over Cinder's head.

"Oh please say no, dude," Jack grumbled quietly again.

"We would have to kill you. If you don't accept my offer, there is another being out there that will try and find you. You are a rare find, and we need you." Slender stated.

"What about my dog?" Hobo looked down at the matted dog.

"He can stay, too. There is another dog here, Smile. He doesn't get along well with other animals;  keep Cinder close to you." Slender returned to the back of his desk and sat down in a chair.

"One last question, what is there to eat?" Hobo's stare was dead set on Slender.

"Well, what do you eat?"

"Lately it's been what I can get my hands on. But I would like to go back to my old diet if you guys do that here." Hobo looked around at everyone in the room.

"He's a cannibal, isn't he?" I whispered to Jack. Jack's glare was pointed at Hobo.

"If you are talking about human, we do. In fact, our lead cannibal is right there." Papagrande chuckled and pointed at Jack.

"Lucy, let's go find Smiley. I need my arm checked out." Jack grabbed my hand and forcefully pulled me out of the room, slamming the door behind us.

"What was that for, Jack? He didn't do anything to you." I deadpanned.

"Really? Let's just point out the fact that we have another cannibal in this mansion and only one human lives here." Jack stopped and turned, looking directly at me.

"Oh. Well, he seemed nice, I don't think he's going to eat me." I giggled.

"You're so optimistic." Jack turned back around and started to climb the first set of stairs.

"Ya know, I felt you get bit." I grinned.

"I felt it too." Jack turned his head towards me and chuckled.

I couldn't help but laugh at his comment. It's so nice having him back here. Now I have somebody to talk to again.

By now, we were halfway up the second flight of stairs. Jack was hollering for Smiley. After a couple of minutes, the pale doctor came out of his room.

"Yes, Jack?" Devin stared at us.

"A dog bit me. Fix me up, doc." Jack said sarcastically.

"You're a pain in my ass. You do know what Jack, right?" Devin lead the way to the hospital room.

"I try." Jack chuckled.

******

Jack had a fabric bandage wrapped around his bicep now. We were laying down in the bedroom, staring at the ceiling.

"Did you have to talk to me about something, Luce?" Jack rolled over, his shirt still off from when Devin wrapped him up.

"Right! So earlier, I was puking and Clock came in the bathroom. She said she was sorry and that she felt back because she felt like he pressured you into taking a bet. What bet?" I rolled over to face him. I took his mask off, making it easier to read his face. Right now, he was biting down on his bottom lip, completely speechless.

"What? Did I do something wrong?" I asked.

"No, I did." He forcefully leaned backward, putting his back on the bed.

"Well tell me. It can't be that bad." I giggled.

******
*Jack's POV*

I knew this was going to happen sooner or later. What I did that night wasn't right, and I did regret it since the second I accepted it.

"LJ," I cleared my throat, "LJ made a bet with me. If I win, he gives me five hundred. If I lose, I give him a thousand."

"Where do you even get that money from?" Lucy asked, running her fingers over the skin on my arm.

My victims.

"Uhm, it's just laying around." I cleared my throat again.

"I wish I could find a grand laying around." Lucy giggled, "You're a terrible liar, Mista J." Lucy giggled again, mocking Harley Quinn's voice.

"We can save that conversation for another time." I rolled over and faced Lucy.

"This must be one serious bet." She giggled even more, "Tell me."

"He bet that we wouldn't go all the way," I said bluntly, getting it off of my chest.

Lucy's grin turned into a frown, "He did what?"

All I could do was sit there and stare at her. I knew once she found out, she would be irate.

"Jack, why did you do that?" She asked, her voice quivering.

"I'm sorry, Lucy. I wasn't going to do it. I want you to be ready bef-"

"You bet money on sex!?" Lucy sat up on the bed and climbed over to the edge. She stood up and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I thought you were better than this. I'm settling this. I will not be bet on for money! I am not somebody's sex slave!" She screamed, slamming the door behind her.

I quickly jumped out of the bed and ran after her. She was at the door on the left of the hall.

She's going to Laughing Jack's room. Shit.

"Lucy! Angel come back here!" I ran after her.

"Don't you 'Angel' me you pig!" She hollered.

"Uh-oh." Jeff's voice sang out from behind me, followed by his deep chuckle. He was peeking out of his room to see what the commotion was.

"Piss off," I said to Jeff and I quickly walked towards Lucy again.

******
*Lucy's POV*

I burst through LJ's door. The monochrome dickhead was sitting on his bed.

"LJ! Do you have something you'd like to tell me?" I walked over to him.

"Hey, Shortstack." He grinned.

Behind me, I heard Jack's footsteps reach the doorway. LJ's face dropped when he realized what I was talking about.

"Oh, that."  LJ chuckled.

I let out a scream as I jumped on top of LJ, throwing my fists at him. A black cloud of smoke appeared underneath me, and LJ was gone.

"She's pissed dude." LJ's voice said behind me.

I turned to see LJ standing next to Jack, his arms folded.

"Pissed is an understatement. I am going to kill you." I lunged off of the bed and at LJ.

"You threaten to kill people a lot, don't you?" LJ chuckled.

Again, a black cloud of smoke appeared where LJ was.

"Lucy, you should calm down." Ben's voice echoed from the other side of the room.

"Don't talk to me, elfy. You probably knew about this too." I snapped.

Ben's face showed hurt, but he continued to speak, "I don't know what's going on, actually."

"He doesn't. He wasn't in the room." Jack said.

"LJ where the hell did you go?" I screamed, scanning the room.

Jack grabbed onto my arms and faced me towards him, "You need to calm down. Do you really think I would do that to you?"

"You accepted it. That's enough for me. Go away and leave me alone. Find yourself a different girlfriend while you're at it." I kneed Jack in the stomach.

Jack hunched over, "What the hell, Lucy? What was that for?"

"Wasting my time. Goodbye, Jack." I left the room.

"What's going on over here?" Masky asked standing at the end of the hall.

I turned and faced the boy, "You're coming with me." I quickly walked passed Masky, grabbing onto his hood and dragging him with me.

"Where are we going?" He asked, fumbling to keep up with my pace.

"Through the portal. I'm going to see my friends."

******

Masky and I quickly left the mansion. I had on my old combat boots with my winter coat and accessories. Masky hadn't asked me a single question, he just followed. We were already on the back trails to the hospital. The moon was coming up through the trees, barely lighting our path. Before we had left, I grabbed Lethal Caress. There was no way I was taking any chances with corrupted tonight.

"Sorry for dragging you along," I said quietly.

"It's fine. I'd rather you have someone with you than be alone out here. Zalgo is pretty pissed off at you." Masky chuckled.

"Believe me, I know." I scoffed.

The hospital was in view now. My stomach dropped as I started running for it.

I quickly walked through the hospital doors and up to the desk. A petite woman with blonde hair sat behind the desk typing.

"Just a second, miss." She smiled at me as she finished up her typing. "Alright, how may I help you?"

"I was wondering if Carmen DeSia is still here." I smiled back, trying to be as polite as possible.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot give that information."

"Listen, I know she was here. I visited a few times. I lost my phone and I can't contact her right now. I wanted to see her tonight." I batted my lashes.

"I suppose I could at least tell you yes or no." The woman started typing on her computer again, "She is here."

A pang of relief swept over me, "Is she still on one of the higher floors?" I asked.

"She was removed from the fourth floor a few weeks ago. Carmen's in the psychiatric unit."

"Psychiatric? Like the crazy people part of the hospital?" I raised my eyebrow.

"Well, that's not the correct term, but yes."

"Where is that?" I asked, looking around.

"Take this hallway all the way to the end and make a left." The blonde pointed at one of the many hallways.

"Thank you," I said.

Turning towards the hallway, I started to make my way towards the psych ward. Questions like, 'why is Carmen there?' And 'what did she do now?' floated through my brain. Masky was close behind me, of course getting awkward stares from everybody. We made our way down the long hall and it finally came to an end. I took a left like the woman had said and walked through a set of doors.

"Hello, miss. How may I help you?" A tall, thin male doctor asked me.

"I'm here to see Carmen DeSia," I stated, looking around.

"Visiting hours aren't until ten in the morning. You'll have to come back."

"Please, I'm headed out of town and I wanted to say goodbye. The lady at the front desk sent me this way." I said frantically, choking up some fake tears.

The male doctor looked at me, and then he looked around before sighing, "Alright. Miss DeSia is right over here."

I followed him as he walked a few doors down and unlocked the door, "She's not aggressive, so I'll be over there." He nodded at a desk, "When you leave let me know and I'll re-lock the door."

"Thank you," I said to him as Masky and I stepped into the room.

It was dark, except for a lamp by the head of the bed. The bed was metal with a thin mattress and a wool brown blanket. The floors and walls were a dull white. Carmen was facing away from us, staring out of the barred up windows.

"Carmen?" I asked, walking over to her.

Carmen turned around. Her face was full of sorrow. Her hands were on her round belly. By now, she was right around six months pregnant. To make matters even better, it was twins. Carmen was a small sized girl to begin with, so seeing her with a huge stomach was kind of odd.

"Carmen, I know you don't remember me, but-"

"I'm sorry for biting your head off like that, Lucy," Carmen said softly, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Wait. You remember- but how!?" I looked over at Masky, who only shrugged in return.

"Carmen, why are you in here?" I grabbed her hands, gesturing for her to tell me.

"Nobody remembers you, Lucy. I do. Everybody thinks I'm crazy, that I've lost my marbles." She chuckled, "I can't believe it's really you." She let out a cry as she wrapped her arms around me.

"Yes, it's me. The one and only." I chuckled, choking back my tears.

"A man came and visited me so many times. He told me you weren't a figment of my imagination. He told me you were real. But he suddenly stopped coming around a little over two weeks ago. At first, he scared me. I thought I was having a nightmare, but he told me he's here to check on me and Michael for you." She cried out.

"What? Who was it?" I asked, pulling away from her.

"I don't know. He wore a mask on the lower part of his face. But he had dark black long hair and huge eyes. Terrifying eyes." She trailed off.

Jeff... When he followed me that one time he told me he was keeping an eye on them. What he didn't tell me was that he went out of his way to make sure Carmen stayed sane in the psych ward.

"I know who he is. He's a really good friend of mine." I smiled at her, "He was in a small accident, but he's okay now."

"Good." Carmen set her hand down on the bed and struggled to sit down. I grabbed her other hand and held her back to help her out.

"Where's Michael?" I asked, sitting next to her.

"He's at my parent's house. The house is now in my name and they left behind a lot of money. I don't even know what to do with it all." She giggled, "He's been working on getting the nursery set up." She smiled, running her hand over her stomach.

"I'm glad he's okay now. That's awesome." I looked over at Masky, "Oh yeah this is my friend-"

"Tim." Masky waved at Carmen.

"Hello, Tim." Carmen waved back.

"I can't believe you remember me." I trailed off.

"What's going on anyway?" Carmen asked.

"I don't think I can say. But one day, Carmen, I will tell you." I rested my head on my best friend's shoulder.

"What happened to Jack?" Carmen teased.

"Oh boy. Don't even get me started." I rolled my eyes.

"Boys." Carmen giggled, "You should never trust them."

"Says the pregnant one." I giggled, poking gently at her stomach.

A small buzzing formed in my ears.

"Lucy, I hate to interrupt, but we have to go." Masky looked at me, "Say your goodbyes."

"Don't leave, Lucy. You just got here." Carmen pleaded.

The buzzing sound grew louder and louder, "I know. I love you Carmen and I will visit again soon. I promise."

I hugged Carmen quickly and gave her one last look before I left the room.

"Sir, we're leaving now. Thank you very much." I waved at the male doctor and quickly headed for the doors.

We were speed walking down the hospital's hallway, the buzzing still not fading.

"What is that noise?" I whispered to Masky.

"Corrupted. We're drawing them near. It's a device Papagrande made that I carry around with me; well, if I remember it." He said as we left the building and ran towards the woods. 

Our footsteps crunched through the snow as our pace quickened. We were headed for the portal, though we still had a little ways to go.

Before I could take another step, Masky grabbed my arm and hushed me. He pointed at a figure a few yards away from us.

"Is he-"

Masky nodded as he slowly drew out his knife.

I reached behind my head. Underneath my jacket, my katana hung against my back. Lucky for me, my jacket was actually long enough to cover it. I slid the katana out of his sheath and gripped it with two hands.

"You have the combat mark, right?" Masky asked, slowly taking steps towards the figure.

"Yes. Everything but magic." I said, out of breath.

"Good enough. Are you read-"

"Masky, they're surrounding us," I said as I turned my head.

Figures emerged from the treeline. Men, women, children, teens, and even dogs. There had to be about fifteen of them at the least. Masky pressed his back against mine as we slightly turned.

"Do we need Slender?" I whispered to him.

"Do you think you're ready for this? You cannot let them touch you, Luce." Masky assured me.

"I know," I said, thinking back to my first encounter with a corrupted. My voice caught in my throat as I watched the once humans around me. Black seeped from most of their mouths and eyes. The scene was too much for me to watch. I whispered, "Slender."

A small boy started twitching around, black oozing from every hole in his head. I froze up seeing a child like this. The boy's eyes were blood red, his skin crawling with black veins. He gave me a creepy grin, his teeth caked in the black goo and lunged at me.

"The corruption is stored in their heart, Luciana!" Masky yelled as he dashed to the dog.

The boy was inches away from me snarling. Slender appeared and instantly hit him, sending him flying into a tree.

"We can't leave these corrupted here. I'll be back in a second." Slender blinked away.

"Some help that was!" I groaned as I dashed towards the boy, ready to take action.

The boy stood up as I pierced through his chest. The blackness that was on running from his face disappeared and I stared right into the eyes of the child. He faltered for words as red blood bubbled up and out of his mouth.

"Help.. me." He groaned out, falling to the ground.

I stared at the boy lying lifelessly in the cold, wet snow.

"Lucy! He's not a boy anymore! You can't help him. You need to focus." Masky yelled, fighting off the snarling dog behind me.

Slender appeared again, this time with Rouge and Toby.

"Proxies, you know what to do," Slender ordered us.

Before I knew it, it was an all-out war. The sounds of war cries, blades and screaming echoed through my ears.

My eyes were still fixated on the child in front of me. His body slowly turning into a pile of ash in the snow.

"Slender, she's not ready. Get her back home." Rouge said as she lunged at me, knocking me off of my feet. A female corrupted tripped over us. Rouge must've knocked me out of the way.

Slender's tendril wrapped around my waist and the next thing I saw was the mansions dining room.

"I have to go back!" I yelled, running for the door.

"Lucy, they can handle it. Stay here and I'll be back with them." Slender said as he blinked away.

I sheathed my katana and walked over and sat down at the dining room table, burying my face in my arms. As I began to sob, I heard the door to the bathroom open. Loud footsteps grew closer and a hand was on my shoulder. I didn't even acknowledge their presence, I just kept weeping.

"They'll be okay." A raspy voice said.

Through my bloodshot eyes, I looked up and saw that it was Jeff. He had come out of his room. I pressed my face into his stomach and cried. The image of the little boy burned into my mind. Who would do such a thing? Why does this have to happen? Why do I have to be apart of this?

"There... there was a boy. He was so young, Jeff." I cried, "I-i-i killed him. His last words were 'help me.' I fucking killed a child Jeff!"

"It happens, Lucy." Jeff pulled me off of him and kneeled down, "It could've been worse. Why did you leave in the first place?"

I stared into the killer's eyes, remembering what he had done for me, "Carmen...." I whispered.

"You shouldn't have gone there. Did you see her?" Jeff asked, wiping a tear off of my cheek.

"She remembers me. Why didn't she forget?"

"I don't know. Slender doesn't know why she remembers either. You were wiped from everybody's memories, except hers." Jeff said, sounding confused.

"Lucy!" Jack's voice echoed over the second story balcony. Jack ran down the stairs and shoved Jeff out of the way, "Are you hurt?"

"Leave me alone, Jack...." I trailed off, trying not to make eye contact.

Truth was, I didn't want him to leave me alone. I wanted him to grab me, to hold me, to tell me everything is going to be okay. But I can't give in, not after what he did.

"Just go, Jack, I can handle her," Jeff said, picking himself up off of the ground.

"No, she's going to listen to me." Jack spat at Jeff.

"I don't have to," I said quietly, staring at the hardwood floor.

Jack continued talking, ignoring what I had said, "Lucy, do you know how many times I had the chance to make a move? A lot. And how many times did I?" Jack looked at me, waiting for an answer, "Answer me, Lucy."

"None!" I yelled in his face, "But the bet was going on until the end of the year! You still had time. Leave me alone." I stood up, shoving Jack out of my way.

I stormed up the stairs and down the hall, entering my bedroom. It was true, Jack had had quite a few opportunities to actually win the bet, but he never made a move. But right now, I have too much going through my head to even think straight. Slipping off my winter gear and katana, I climbed into my bed.

A while later, Jack entered the room quietly. I was facing the wall, pretending to sleep. He walked over to my bedside lamp and turned it off. Jack then leaned down and kissed my head, "Good night, Lucy."

I kept quiet. My stomach churned and a feeling of guilt washed over me as Jack walked over to his bed and laid down. He flipped off his lamp as the room grew dark.

"Jack..." I whispered, "Why did you do that?"

I could hear Jack sigh softly, "I don't know, Luciana. My thoughts were if she's ready before then, I could make an extra five hundred. I wasn't going to force you. But I was completely wrong. I feel bad." Jack said from the other side of the room.

"Yeah. I hope you do." I choked out, my voice cracking. Grabbing onto my pillow, I hugged it close to me. I just needed some comfort, just a little bit would be fine, and the pillow wasn't helping much, "Good night, Jack."

"Good night, Luciana," Jack replied from his bed.

I knew Jack wasn't going to bed, I wasn't either. But cutting off the conversation was the best for us right now. We've been together for over a month, and never in a million years did I see this coming. He probably thinks I'm being irrational, but I'm not. I will not be with someone who things betting sex for money is okay.

I stuffed my face into my pillow and wept softly.

Visions of the small boy from earlier came back. His brown hair all ruffled up and his tan skin bruised, swirling with black veins. The sound of my katana slicing through his chest. The way his eyes looked at me as he pleaded for me to help him. The crimson and black swirled blood pooling around his body in the snow under the pale moonlight.

My body tensed up as I began crying even harder. I know that was my fault. If I wouldn't have left, we would've never seen them. Hell, if I wouldn't have been drawn to Jack's mask in the alley in October, maybe I wouldn't be here period. My family might still own the club, and I would still be with them. Just the thought of them made my stomach sick. By now, streams of tears fell down my face. My nose was stuffed up from the crying and my breathing was shakey.

"Lucy, please don't cry..." Jack said from the other side of the room.

"I'll go find somewhere else to stay for the night then." I cried, standing up and walking for the door.

My hand grabbed the door handle and as I began to turn it, Jack had his hands on my arms, turning me around. He pulled me into a tight hug and I couldn't resist it anymore. My arms wrapped around him as I cried into his chest. My legs began to tremble, but I knew I wasn't going to fall, not with how tight Jack was holding me.

"Don't leave me, Luciana. I know I made a mistake. I wasn't thinking. I don't want to lose you." Jack whispered into my hair, sending goosebumps through my body.

It took a little bit for me to calm down so I could reply, but Jack didn't mind. He had his one hand holding me up and the other running over my back gently. Right now, there is no place I'd rather be.

When I could speak again, I managed to say, "Quit screwing up, Jack. I need you." Around my eyes was wet from all of the crying, but I looked up at Jack anyways. His face was filled with guilt and sorrow. The way his lips were straight, almost in a frown and the way his lids were, mostly closed. Jack sighed and squeezed me harder for a few seconds before loosening his grip.

And then he said it. He said the words I didn't want to hear quite yet. Jack said the three words, three syllables, seven letters, one meaning. Coming from his mouth, it sounded so beautiful- like the way birds sound on a warm summer morning, or the way you can the crisp stream gliding over rocks. The way it made me feel was indescribable. I knew after that moment, things will change. Sure, my family has said those words to me, but they don't have a choice, I'm their family. But hearing it from somebody who has the choice to be with me, the choice to care for me, and the choice to want me, that was something I can't even begin to describe. "I love you."

All I could do was fumble for words, and stare at his dark holes for eyes. My mouth was hung slightly open, still trying to think of something, anything. But I couldn't. It caught me off guard, a spur of the moment. Did he mean it? Of course, he meant it, he's been trying to say it for weeks now. Did I feel the same way?

"I love you, too, Jack."

Of course, I did.

******

I couldn't move. My arms were strapped down on the arm of a chair. Barely moving my head around, I couldn't see much. A light bulb hung above me, the rest of the room pitch black. Tape was covering my mouth, muffling my cries for help. I tried to move my legs, but they too were bound to the chair. My forehead had something wrapped around it, pressing the back of my head to the chair.

"Hello, Luciana." A cold, clammy hand grazed the side of my face.

To my luck, I couldn't move my head to see who was there. I tried to speak, but again, nothing came out.

"Blink once for no, twice for yes." The cringe-worthy voice ordered, "Do you know where you are?"

I blinked once.

"Do you know why you are here?"

I blinked once again. The hidden figure walked around the chair. A dark black trench coat covered most of his body. On his head, I noticed a hat with a large circular brim. When he turned to face me, I stopped moving. I could tell it was a man by the shape of his almost hidden jaw. But the rest of his face was covered by what resembled a bird. A plague doctors mask. It was white with two eye holes, and a very long beak.

"Do you know who I am?"

My eyes were open with fear, but I remembered to blink once.

"I am the Plague Doctor. I am here to help you serve your purpose. But do not get me wrong, ending your purpose would be just as easy." He chided, pulling out a long, thick syringe.

I wiggled around in my chair, screaming through my throat.

He flicked the needle a few times, squirting a liquid out of it.

"This will only take a second. It shouldn't hurt," the man said, "Well, actually, I wouldn't know." He cackled as he leaned down and pressed the syringe deep into my neck.

I felt the flow of a thick liquid enter through the side of my neck. At first, it started out cool, until he pulled out the syringe. Now, I thought something was eating me alive from the inside out. Bubbles formed in the bottom of my throat but were caught in my mouth. I began to gag. He removed the tape and I spat out a dark green liquid.

"I will be seeing you again. You may wake up now."

******

Screaming, I sat up quickly. My body was drenched with sweat, still burning like before. Except now, the back of my neck burned with it. Jack was next to me, cringing as he tried to claw away his pain. I kept screaming, shaking violently as my bones felt they were protruding from my skin.

"What is going on?" Jeff opened the door and looked at the both of us. Jeff then started to run at us, but before he could get to close he was cut off.

"Don't touch us! Get Slender!" Jack yelled out through his pain.

Hurriedly, Jeff left the room. My throat was burning from the screaming. I felt something crawl up the side of my face and back down to my throat. I started hacking again, rolling to the edge of the bed and vomiting more green liquid up.

My head was hanging over the bed when I saw a pair of shoes enter the doorway. I glanced up to see Slender and Papagrande standing there. Papagrande had his hand over his mouth, while Slender knelt down in front of me, avoiding the liquid.

"What happened?" He asked, trying to sound calm.

"There was a man-"

"In here?" Papagrande asked, looking around.

I shook my head, "He was in my dreams. He had a beak mask."

"Plague Doctor. Lucy, what did he say? We need to know right now." Slender looked back at Papagrande, who still looked like he had seen a ghost.

"He said he's here to help me serve my purpose. But he also said he could end it just as easily." I choked out.

I rolled onto my back, shaking and sweating. I lifted my arm up and screamed again. Every vein that was visible in my body had turned a dark black. I started scratching at my arms, feeling crazed from what I see.

"Jack, stop her," Slender ordered.

Jack grunted a few times as he made his way over to me and grabbed my arms. His lids were squeezed tightly shut and his jaw clenched, still feeling the same pain I was. Tears formed in my eyes as I tried to fight Jack's grip.

"Lucy, just stop. You're making this difficult for the both of you." Slender said.

I gave up and dropped my arms. The burning was still there, but no longer on the proxy mark, only in my throat.

Before I knew it, all the pain stopped. I was staring at the ceiling. Jack's head was on my stomach. Both of us were trying to catch our breath.

"Is the pain done?" Slender asked, standing back up.

I nodded as he slipped me out from under Jack, carrying me out of the room.

"Get me Smiley. I have no clue what we're up against." Slender said to Papagrande. Papagrande took off running for the third floor as Slender walked towards the study.

Everything was in a haze. I tried to focus, to pay attention, but I couldn't. The three of them stood around me, arguing about what happened. Slender had my hair up in a high bun, exposing my finished proxy mark.

Every now and then I'd look at one of them and attempt to listen, but I didn't catch much.

"Her veins will go back to normal by morning." I heard Devin say as he looked at me sympathetically.

But I just kept a straight face.

Devin was now in front of me snapping his fingers. But I didn't move. I just stared at it, watching in slow motion.

"She's dazed." I could hear Papagrande announce.

The three of them went back to talking about me.

"Where's Jack?" I whispered.

They all turned to me and looked at each other.

"He's upstairs. Jeff is with him." Devin knelt down in front of me and put his hand on my knee, "Jack is doing perfectly fine."

I slid my knee out from under his grasp and continued to stare at nothing. Devin stood up and went back to Slender and Papagrande.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, unintentionally falling asleep.

******

When I awoke, I was back in bed. Jack was next to me, his arm tucked around me as he laid on his back. I had my knee over his leg. I looked at Jack's face and realized he was awake.

"Good morning, Angel." He said blankly.

"Good morning, Jack." I yawned, pressing my face into his chest.

As I moved my head around, I could feel the crustiness of the brand on the back of my neck. It made me cringe every time I felt the dead skin move around. I leaned back and stretched out my arms and noticed the blackness of my veins was barely visible anymore.

I sighed, "Can this honestly get any worse?" I traced my newly colored veins with my fingertips.

"Probably. You are living with a bunch of killers." Jack chuckled.

"What's on the agenda for the day?" I sighed.

"Clock stopped by a while ago. She said she wanted to hang out with you. I have training, but you don't today." Jack then cleared his throat, "Hunter also wanted to go see Carmen at some point. He asked me to talk to you about it."

"What!? Can he even do that?" I squeaked.

"Slender okay'd it. As long as Hunter doesn't get caught. Carmen can know it's him, but nobody else can." Jack sat up in the bed, "How was your visit with Carmen anyways?"

"It was nice. She's got such a cute baby bump." I giggled.

Jack turned to me and raised an eyebrow, "Don't go getting any ideas." He chuckled.

"Me? I'm not the one who accepted that bet." I stuck my tongue out at Jack.

Jack sighed, "You're never going to let that go, are you?"

"Not until I'm dead."

"I can arrange that." Jack grinned as he tackled me back onto the bed, "Death by tickling." He announced as he started prancing his fingertips over every ticklish spot I have.

I started laughing uncontrollably, "J-Jack! I-I-I can't breathe!" I laughed out, trying to force him off of me.

He came to a halt, his face above mine. I leaned up and pressed my lips against his. He pressed down, forcing my head back onto the pillow.

"Hey, guys-" Jeff walked in.

Jack and I looked over at the door.

"Next time I'll knock." Jeff left, closing the door behind him.

"Now, where were we?" Jack turned his gaze back to me, "Oh yeah. Death by tickling."

He started tickling me again.

One thing was for sure, I was completely wrong. Jack had a heart, a rather large one at that. When I was down, he knew exactly how to cheer me up. Almost one month with him and he could read me like a book. He was who I wanted to spend eternity and then some with.

******
*Jack's POV*

"Get out of my way, Jane." I pushed passed the black-eyed bitch, ignoring every comment spewing from her dreaded mouth.

"I'm just saying. She's a ticking time bomb. Nothing but a roller coaster of emotions!" Jane followed closely behind me.

"Jane, leave Jack alone," Hunter said, walking by my side.

"You're taking their side, Hunty?" Jane pouted.

"There are no sides, Jane. There is just us. Everybody at this mansion is one. The sooner you realize that the easier it'll be for everyone." Hunter sighed.

They've been at each other's throats since before we got down here for training.

"You're just mad because I didn't screw-"

"I don't want to hear this." I cut Jane off, starting to jog.

Hunter came up beside me, "I agree with you on that, mate."

"There's a first." I scoffed.

Jane was following behind us, her heels clicking against the obstacle course pavement.

Slender set up the course today to where two of us could go at a time. Usually, that's how it was set up unless we had a proxy in training. Now that Lucy is done, the course is back to normal.

"I am so sick of you, Hunter! You use me and use me and-"

"Jane, I have never used you. You're just psycho and making this all up in your pretty little mind." Hunter corrected her. He looked over at me, "I'll race ya."

I grinned under my blue mask, "Let's leave her in the dust."

We both picked up our speed, hopping over the wall in front of us. Hunter was fast but not as fast as I was. What he was really good at was balance. If you were to set this Australian up on a thin wire going across the Atlantic Ocean, he'd make it to the other side with no difficulties. When the plank came in front of us, Hunter ran up it with no faltering. I took my time but still kept my pace. When I reached the top, Hunter was starting the monkey bars. I grabbed on and quickly skipped the next.

At the end of that, Hunter jumped down and ran around the corner. I followed only a few feet behind. The ropes were the next part. Quickly, I jumped to the first one and when I got my momentum going, I grabbed the second. Easily, I made it to the end, passing Hunter up at the second to last one. I took my time before running up the slope, grabbing onto the top of the platform and hoisting myself up. Hunter came up at the same time as me.

Why in the hell is my scalp burning and itchy!?

I stopped for a brief second to scratch my itch, regrettably letting Hunter retake the lead.

What the hell is going on?

I ignored the itchy, burning sensation and continued running, grabbing onto the suspended rings and doing those two at a time. When I reached the end, I saw Hunter slide down the rope and take off towards the tire. Quickly, I grabbed on and slid down. My feet touched the ground and I took off into a sprint. I jumped forward and latched into the tire, hastily swinging it back and forth.

Hunter was chuckling as he jumped off of the tire, landing on the platform. I did the same and stumbled a little bit.

The next part wasn't set up two by two. We were to jump onto the platforms and go in a straight line instead of back and forth. Hunter jumped onto the first one. I sprinted and jumped from one to the next, only letting one foot hit each. Jumping off I looked up and saw Hunter already sitting at the finish line.

"You teleported. Cheater." I groaned.

"I only teleported because I was falling." Hunter reassured me, "You're the true winner, Jack." He said sarcastically.

"Shut up." I chuckled.

Jane landed behind me, her heels clanged loudly.

I walked over to Hunter and stood by him. We both watched Jane walk onto the field and pull out her knife.

"Let's go, Hunter." She announced, beckoning him towards her.

"Alright, this is going to be interesting." I patted Hunter's back, "Go get her, tiger." I chuckled.

"Piss off, Jack." He groaned, "Jane, it's not worth it right now. We can just talk about it." Hunter reached down on the ground, picking up his metal baseball bat. He pressed a button and tiny spiked emitted from the holes in the bat.

"I love watching that." I admitted to myself, chuckling at my own comment, "Aim for her face!" I hollered to Hunter.

"You're not helping!" Hunter shot back to me.

"It would help her!" I chuckled loudly, watching Jane's face twist with anger.

"Do you want to come out here, too? I'll kick both of your asses." Jane stated.

"Get your panties out of a bundle, Jane. It's how Jack is. Now, drop the knife and we can talk about this." Hunter said, pushing the tip of his bat into the ground and resting on it.

"Jane, I swear to Zalgo, if you make Shadowlurker come out, I'm going to kick your ass." I yelled over to her.

"Maybe Hunter should learn to control himself!" Jane spat at me.

"From one half-ass shapeshifter to another, that's a lot easier said than done," I growled.

"Shapeshifter? Ha! You guys have two sides, that's it. You're schizo. Shapeshifter my ass." She cackled.

"You know, I really don't like you," I said loudly.

"Just shut up both of you. Jane, drop the knife before I take this bat and splatter your brains everywhere." Hunter growled.

Such a loving boyfriend he is.

"I'm done with you. I know you lied to everybody about Lucy. She hasn't done anything wrong to you! Why do you treat her like this?" Hunter asked, gripping tighter to his bat.

"You literally just broke up with me and now you're talking about Lucy?" Jane snapped, "That's all you talk about lately! Lucy this. Lucy that. What about me!?"

Hunter turned to me quickly, "Don't let her get to your head about Lucy, mate." He turned back around, "She's just a jealous, conniving cun-"

"Do not finish that word, Hunter John Kelzin!"

"T!" Hunter emphasized the 't' after Jane cut him off.

Jane dropped her hands to her side and lowered her head, "You're not very nice."

"I'm not nice? Jane, tell me right now one thing Lucy has done to you." Hunter crossed his arms, his bat hanging loosely in his lower hand.

Jane pouted, "She was trying to steal you away."

"That's all in your head! That girl is beyond infatuated with Jack! If you took the time to get to know her, you would know that." Hunter turned away, "I'm done here. I'll be telling Slender to move you into a different room and out of mine. Don't bother speaking to me unless I speak to you." Hunter turned away and threw his bat to the side.

I was itching my scalp when Hunter came back over to me.

"Got bugs, mate?" He chuckled, "Let's leave. I can't handle seeing her cry." Hunter said quietly enough for only me to hear him.

I turned back to see Jane sitting in the middle of the arena, running her fingers over the tip of her blade.

******

"She's not up here either." I hollered down to Hunter.

We've been looking for Clock and Lucy since we got back to the mansion twenty minutes ago.

"I am looking at her right now." Hunter chuckled, staring towards the first story bathroom.

"Shut up!" I heard Lucy hiss. The bathroom door slamming and locking.

The itchy feeling in my scalp left a few minutes after we had returned. I started to descend down to the first floor. Hunter was chuckling, his fingers pressing back his laughter.

"What is so funny?" I looked over at him.

"You'll see. Her and Clock must've had their work cut out for them." Hunter chuckled.

The bathroom door opened and Clock came out, closing it behind her. She walked over to me, a huge grin painted on her face.

"Looking for someone, Jacky boy?" She giggled.

"Clock, if I had eyes, I would be rolling them right now. Obviously, I'm looking for Lucy. What is she doing?" I tried to peer past her.

"Drying up." Clock giggled, looking over at Hunter.

Drying up?

"I'm just going to point out the awkwardness of you coming out of the bathroom and my girlfriend 'drying up'." I grumbled.

Clock slapped my arm, "Head out of the gutter, sicko. She's drying her hair." Clock turned around to the sound of the bathroom door opening.

The door was only opened enough to see the blue eye of Lucy.

"Come on out, Lucy. He won't bite." Clock grinned, "Not hard at least."

"I feel ridiculous," Lucy said, pressing her lips to the crack in the door.

Clock walked over to the bathroom door and opened it. She grabbed Lucy's hand and pulled her out. Lucy was looking down at the ground.

"I think I figured out your itching situation, Jack." Hunter chuckled harder than before.

Lucy's hair was blonde, matching the light roots I had noticed the other day. Her hair was also trimmed up a few inches below her shoulders. She had a side part, allowing her bangs to swoop over the scar I had given her during training.

"He hasn't said anything, Clock." Lucy panicked.

"Do you think we broke him?" Clock chuckled.

"Wow." I managed to say.

Lucy's cheeks turned a bright red, the black veins still visible on the side of her face.

"Well, this is cute," Jeff said, walking out of the bathroom.

"You were all three in there?" I asked, sounding more concerned than I should've been.

"Clock bleached her hair and I cut it." Jeff smiled proudly.

"Of course you did," I said slyly.

"Hey, don't offend my artwork. That took quite a bit of time." Jeff scoffed.

"Do you even like it?" Lucy said softly.

"Like it? I can't believe the work of two murderers could make something so beautiful, Lucy." I walked over to her and ran my fingers over the ends of her hair.

"Jeff, he complimented us. We broke Jack." Clock announced.

"Shut up." I chuckled, staring down at my Angel.

"I hate to interrupt, but Hobo and I have dinner ready." Ben said from the kitchen, "You're all in my way."

"Hobo cooks?" Hunter looked around at us confused.

"He cooked his and Jack's meals." Ben said, wheeling in two big platters and empty cups, "Will you guys sit down already? I left my game on upstairs and if my system overheats and I'm going to get pissed."

"Good grief, Ben, if your system overheats you can fix it in a jiffy, just like you did before," Jeff said, rolling his eyes as he sat down.

"I'd rather not lose any unsaved data. But nice try buddy." Ben said, placing the silver platters on the table.

Hobo came into the room, carrying two plates. He walked over to me and quickly I grabbed my plate before Lucy could lay eyes on it.

"It's fine, Jack," Lucy assured me, grabbing my free hand and leading me to the table.

"Pasta-fucks who aren't at the table! Get your rear in gear and down here to eat." Ben called out loudly.

I remembered back to the other night when Ben was sitting on the pool table. I sat down and began to wonder if his attitude had anything to do with that. Ever since then, he's been quiet and closed off, not the Ben we all know.

LJ jumped over the railing, landing behind me and Lucy. Lucy turned around and looked at the clown. He waved at her as she growled in response.

"Nice, kitty," LJ said sarcastically, walking to his seat at the table.

Zero appeared in her seat, "I'm so excited to eat! What's for dinner?" She said enthusiastically.

"Bon Appetite." Ben lifted the lids off the platters to reveal--- chicken nuggets and french fries.

"Seriously? A silver platter for this?" Masky groaned, taking his seat at to the table with Hoodie and Rouge.

"I had no help in there cooking! You're lucky it wasn't a pb&j!" Ben rolled his eyes, "Ungrateful much?"

"Dig in and shut up." Lucy giggled, taking her share of the food.

"Someone's excited about chicken nuggets," Hunter said, leaning in for his turn.

"Hunter, remember we would eat these after school almost every single day?" Lucy asked him, squirting mustard and ketchup into the same pile and mixing it with a fry.

"That looks so revolting." Rouge grimaced.

"Have you tried it?" Lucy held up and chicken nugget dipped in her 'ketchard' sauce.

"No, and I don't plan on it." Rouge sat back in her chair, avoiding the nugget.

Jeff snatched it out of Lucy's hand and took a bit, "She's a genius!" He dipped in back into her sauce mixture.

"Get your own pile, Jeffrey!" She slapped his hand away.

This. This was how it should be at the mansion. Everybody is getting along, laughing with one another and experiencing new things. This was something I wanted to last forever.

But it was as if the she-devil herself knew we were having fun because the mansion door opened and Jane stepped in. All laughter died down as we stared at her.

"H-hi guys." She choked out.

I glanced over at Hunter on Lucy's other side. He was staring in the complete opposite direction at Ben.

Jane's bottom lip quivered as she made her way up the stairs. When her bedroom door shut, everything returned back to the way it was.

"That was awkward. Go check on her, Hunter." LJ said through a mouth full of food.

"I'm done with that crazy woman. Somebody else go check on her." Hunter said, biting into a nugget.

Everybody exchanged glances, but not a single person moved. Next, to me, Lucy was sliding a nugget back and forth through her 'ketchard'. She bit the chicken nugget and stood up, "Wish me luck."

"Lucy, don't-"

Lucy turned to Hunter and cut him off, "If I'm not back here five minutes after that door closes, come get me."

She grabbed an empty plate and filled it with chicken nuggets and French fries, "Does she like ketchup or mustard?" She asked Hunter.

"None. Put barbecue sauce on the side." He sighed, putting his hands over his face.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." She grinned at everyone as she slid her free hand over my shoulder and kissed my mask, "Eat up, babe."

I turned and watched my now blonde girlfriend ascend the staircase.

When the door shut, I heard a beep from the kitchen table. Everyone looked over at Smiley.

"What? I set an alarm for five minutes on my watch." He chuckled, "It's Jane, we can't be too careful."

"Clock, I think that bleach soaked into her brain." Jeff chuckled.

"Shut up." Clock picked up a fry and threw it across the table at Jeff.

"Hey! Ben worked so hard to make that." Jeff said dramatically.

Zero cleared her throat and looked around, "If she comes back down in one piece, we need the wine."

"For what?" Dollmaker piped in.

"Think about it. If her and Jane start getting along, maybe it's going to be the start of all of us getting along with Jane." Zero stood up and walked to the kitchen, "That and the nuggets are dry and elf boy didn't grab anything to drink."

"They're not dry! Get up and get it yourself!" Ben said in his defense.

Zero popped her head out from the kitchen, "What do you think I'm doing?" She went back into the kitchen.

I chuckled at them as I cut into the juicy liver on my plate. Hobo was seated next to me, his food nearly gone.

"Did you feed the mutt?" I said, taking a bite of the tender food.

Hobo cleared his throat, "I gave him the bone scraps if that's alright."

"As long as you save a few for Smile." Jeff cut into the conversation.

"I gave him some too. Smile and Cinder get along perfectly fine. They were outside playing today." Hobo announced.

"He won't be like that every day. Just keep an eye on the mutt. Smile will snap at any second he gets." I said, cutting back into the liver.

The beeping of Smiley's watch went off as I went to take a bit. I set down my fork and looked at Hunter. Quickly, we both pressed back in our chairs and ran at the staircase, knocking our chairs over in the process.

"I swear if she so much as touched Lucy-"

Before we could make it to the top of the second floor, we heard a bedroom door open.

"Come on, Jane." Lucy chided.

"They all hate me. I've been so mean in the past, Lucy, you don't understand. None of them will be anywhere near as forgiving as you have been." Jane's voice faintly said back.

"I'll punchem in the nose if they say anything," Lucy joked, "Come on. My foods getting cold."

I turned and looked at Hunter. He pressed a finger to his lips and pointed down at our chair. Quietly and hastily, we made our way back to our seats before the girls came down. Everyone continued what they were doing, relief washing over all of us.

I continued digging into my liver, "Hobo, where did you learn to cook like this?"

"Over a campfire. Using a stove is slightly different, but Ben helped me out." Hobo said through the last mouthful of his liver.

I looked at the black and white man, "You're going to have to teach me at some point. I always burn it." I chuckled.

Lucy and Jane walked down to the first floor. Lucy walked over and pulled a chair at the end of the table out for Jane. Everybody was staring at them, but I cleared my throat loudly, making everyone jump and mind their own business again.

Lucy came back to her spot and sat down. She leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Thank you."

"Mmhm. Are you sure you're okay with me eating?" I asked, looking over at her.

"No, Jack. Starve." She rolled her eyes and giggled, "Yes you dork, eat."

I smiled at her as I looked back down at my plate. I managed to get a few more bites in before curiously looking at Jane. She was playing with her fries.

"Jane, do you like mustard?" I asked, trying to spark up a conversation.

"Kind of." She replied quietly.

I looked at Lucy, giving her a cue to take over the conversation.

"I eat my nuggets and fries with a ketchup and mustard mix! Wanna try?" Lucy grinned.

"Sure," Jane replied shortly.

Lucy stood up and walked over to Jane's plate, mixing the mustard and ketchup together. Jane dipped a nugget in it and took a bite.

"Well?" Lucy asked cheerfully.

"It's good." Jane gave her a half-hearted smile.

"Looks like we can agree on something," Jeff grumbled, stuffing a fry into his mouth.

One by one, everyone finished and went back to what they were doing before. Ben was the first to be done, and he raced off to his room.

"Hobo, feed the rest of this to the mutt." I handed him my plate and followed Ben's footsteps.

Getting up to the third floor, I looked down at the dining room table. Jane had moved over to sit by Lucy, both of them engaging in conversation.

I walked down the hall and knocked on Ben's door.

"Jack, I know that's you." He said through the door, "What do you want?"

I opened the door and walked in. He was staring at his tv screen, playing a game.

"What's going on lately?" I asked, sitting down on his bed.

Ben was sitting on the floor facing his tv, "Nothing I want to talk about."

"Ben, you were doing perfectly fine and then all of the sudden you're acting like you have a stick up your ass." I groaned.

Ben paused his game and looked over at me, "If I say anything, promise not to tell anybody?"

I crossed my heart, "Promise." I chuckled.

"It's not funny. See, you're not taking this seriously." He started his game again.

"Ben, come on. I won't tell anyone."

He paused his game again and sighed, laying back on the floor, "I found something. Slender was talking about it and I overheard and went looking for it." Ben sat up, "He has a whole other place, Jeff. It's passed the portal tree line in the side of a mountain, dude. A huge-ass mountain."

I raised my eyebrow, "Okay, so?"

"There are others there, Jack. Only a few, but there are others. It's like, we're the main ones in the Woods, and he threw them off to the side." Ben stared at me in amusement.

"Did someone have a few shots while making dinner?" I chuckled.

"I'm not kidding. If you say anything to anybody, I will make sure you're never found again." He replied coldly.

"Alright, alright. I believe you. I'm sure Slender won't keep them hidden for long." I stood up.

"We'll see about that." He turned back to his game and continued to play it.

I stepped out of his room and walked down the hall. If Ben was serious about this, it could be both good and bad for all of us. I doubt Slender would intentionally let any harm come to any of us, but something seems fishy about this whole thing.

I made my way down the stairs and heard giggles coming from the kitchen.

"You first." I heard Lucy say, her voice sounding groggy.

"Of course you would make me go first!" I heard Jane giggle.

They continued on with whatever they were doing as I cleaned up the table. I stacked plates on top of plates and set them on the tray along with the cups. I walked over to the other side and cleaned up those plates and cups too.

As I wheeled the cart into the kitchen, I saw Lucy, Jane, Zero, and Hobo sitting around the bar. Each of them with a glass of wine in their hands.

"Lucy, don't drink too much, you have training tomorrow." I chuckled, setting the plates one by one in the dishwasher.

"This is only like my third-"

"Fourth" Jane corrected.

"Fourth cup," Lucy stated, taking another drink of the dark red wine.

"No more than five, Luce. You have training tomorrow, and trust me, training with a hangover isn't delightful." I chuckled as I stacked the cups in the dishwasher.

"Who died and made you boring, Jack?" Zero grinned, swirling her wine around in her glass.

"I'm just looking out for Lucy, Zero," I stated, closing the dishwasher and setting it to the right setting.

I turned around and leaned back against the counter. Lucy was facing away from me, giggling and leaning on Hobo's arm. The sight made me cringe, but I knew it was just her having fun.

"Come have a drink, Jack," Jane said as she opened up a beer can and handed it to me.

"I'm good, Jane." I declined her offer, "I'd rather keep an eye on Lucy."

Jane looked at Lucy and in unison, they both said 'aww' and then giggled.

Lucy stood up and patted her stool, "Sit."

I walked over and sat in between Hobo and Jane. Lucy climbed onto my lap and put her left arm around my neck, her other hand was occupied by her drink.

"You two have got to stop this." Zero dramatically said out loud.

"What?" Lucy asked her face in complete puzzlement.

"Being cute," Zero said as she hiccuped, then burped.

I couldn't help but chuckle as I felt my cheeks turning red.

"Speaking of cute, when did this happen, Lucy?" Jane grabbed Lucy's hair gently.

"Jeff and Clock did it earlier when you guys were at training." Lucy flipped her hair, "I decided to go back to my natural color." She then grinned at me, "It was his idea."

"You're doing it again." Zero pointed out our 'cuteness' as she took another sip of her wine.

"Hush." Lucy said, taking the last bit of the bitter red wine in her mouth and swallowing, "Fill me up." She set her glass down on the table.

"Last one, Luciana. Then we need to go upstairs." I stated, resting my hand on the outside of her thigh.

Jane cleared her throat and handed me the beer, "Come on, Jack. One beer isn't going to do shit to you."

"I can't-"

Lucy looked at me, "Really, it's fine babe. I can handle myself, ya know." She said, flexing the muscles on her right arm.

"I know, Lucy. I'm just not in the mood." He sighed.

"How do I get you in the mood then? Slender won't mind if we take one day off of training." Lucy said, taking another drink of her wine.

"Some other time, Lucy. I promise." I chuckled, pulling her closer to me and hugging her.

"Speaking of getting in the mood, has anybody noticed Ben's mood lately?" Zero rolled her eyes and took a drink.

"I know! He's been so quiet! When I first got here, he was the one who helped me out and now it's so weird having him so quiet." Lucy said, drinking her wine a lot faster than she should've.

"He's fine. I just talked to him." I lied... partially.

"Good. Benny-boo needs to stay happy." Zero giggled.

Lucy chugged the rest of her wine and set the glass down, "Alright guys, Jack says it's time to go." She pouted and stood up.

She quickly grabbed onto my back for support. I turned and looked at Lucy who gave me a small grin and giggled.

"I lied." Jane chuckled, "She's been chugging wine since we got in here."

"Just about ready to start bottle three!" Zero announced, pulling another bottle out.

"Remind me to never leave her alone with you guys again." I groaned, "Let's go Lucy."

I stood up and grabbed her hand. She stumbled a few times before turning around, "That was fun! We should do that again." She giggled. When she turned back around she ran right into me.

"Oops." She giggled again.

I picked Lucy up, bridal style and started to walk away, "You're going to be the death of me, you know that?" I said as I walked around the corner and began to climb the stairs.

"Aww, at least wait for a couple years. We can have a hundred babies and then you'll see what will be the death of you." Lucy hiccuped.

"A hundred?" I chuckled, "Where did my innocent Lucy go to?"

"I'm still here, just speaking my mind." She giggled, nuzzling her face into my neck.

I made it to our hallway before Lucy started talking again, "Fine. Not one hundred. Just ninety-nine." Her words starting to sound slurred.

"You really shouldn't have chugged that last one, Angel," I said, opening up the door.

"But, I had fun and made a new friend." Lucy pouted as I laid her on the bed.

I turned around to go and close the door, and by the time I turned back, Lucy was struggling to get out of her shirt, her pants already on the ground.

"Heeeeeelp." Lucy groaned, her elbow caught above her head.

I couldn't help but laugh at the sight as I walked over to her, "Straighten your arms, Lucy."

She straightened her arms, wiggling her fingers around as I slid the shirt off of her.

"Ninety-eight?" She said as she laid back on the bed.

"Ninety-eight what?" I chuckled, digging through her dresser drawers.

"Babies." She said quickly, enunciating the 'b' at the beginning of the word.

"Wait until you hear about this in the morning," I said, grabbing her black Minnie Mouse nightgown.

"You're avoiding my question." Lucy sat up on the bed as I turned around, her face growing serious.

"I'm not, Lucy. I'd like to talk about this when you're not drunk though." I stared as I walked over to her and pulled the gown over her head.

She pushed her arms through the armholes and turned in the bed, "Take my bra off."

"Your gown is already on. How do I do that?" I asked quizzically.

Lucy put her hands in front of her and mocked the actions of what I was supposed to do, "Reach your hand under behind my back. Unclasp it. Take your hands out. I'll do the rest."

If I had eyes, they would've rolled at her ridiculousness. I did what she said and she slipped her strap through on armhole then through the other and pulled the bra off.

"Easy as pie." She grinned, laying down.

I slipped my mask off and threw it over to my bed. Pulling my hoodie off, Lucy giggled.

"What?"

"Ninety-seven?"

"Lucy," I warned her as I slipped my shirt off and removed my shoes and pants.

Lucy sat back up as I crawled into bed with her, "It's too awkward to talk about when I'm not drunk, Jack." She started to tear up, "Slender only wants me around because he can't find another way to get his proxies and he's using me. He'll be tormenting my babies the way he torments me."

"Lucy, he's not tormenting you."

"Now he's not, but before I thought I was going to die!" She cried out.

Before, as in when Slender didn't remove her from the arena when she was against me. My heart nearly plummeted to my stomach hearing those words from her.

"You weren't going to die, Lucy. Too many of them were there to stop me."

Lucy wiped her tears away and looked at me, "Oh no, did I offend you? I'm sorry!" She lunged at me, wrapping her arms around me.

"Don't worry about it. I understand." I rubbed her back.

"I'm serious, though. Slender wouldn't care if I wasn't his only way to getting another proxy. It's stupid." She pouted.

"I don't want kids, Lucy. They freak me out." I stated bluntly.

Thinking back to it, my encounter with the little girl at Build-A-Bear wasn't so bad. She was sweet and nice, and the best part was- she wasn't mine.

"Jack, for me would you?" Lucy asked.

"I am not having ninety-seven kids, Lucy. I've got the instinct of a killer, I'd hurt them."

Lucy scoffed, "You're a pain in my ass. You're with me, yet you know that one day I need to do that so Slender can receive more proxies! You make no sense." She rolled over on the bed.

I guess I never thought about it that way. Sure, I imagined Lucy having kids, but definitely not mine. Certainly not mine. I never had an interest in having any kids.

"This whole relationship is pointless if I'm just going to have to have kids with someone else." She choked out.

"I don't want to talk about this, Lucy. Can we do it when you're sober, please?" I asked her, pulling the blankets up to her shoulders.

"No. Now is a nice time to talk about it. I'm thinking about it a lot more than I should, but you would never know because you don't ask me what's on my mind. Now, you know."

"What do you want me to say? You're not going to stop until I say the right thing, so tell me what it is."

"I want you to say yes. Not to a hundred, but to like two, or three." She rolled over, "I know it would suck at first, but I'll do all the work, I won't mind. And I'm not saying right this second, but maybe a few years from now." She said, grabbing on to my hand.

"We haven't even been together for two months, Lucy."

"But you said you loved me. You do, don't you?" Lucy asked, running her fingers gently over my hand.

"Yes." More than you could imagine...

"Then what is there to lose?" Lucy asked.

Truth was- nothing. My missions for Slender was my work, so while I was away, Lucy could handle the-- am I seriously considering this? I don't think I could stand aside and watch another man walk into Lucy's life, to give her the kids she wants- that we all need.

"I'll think about it." I looked down at Lucy.

"Jack?"

"What Lucy?"

"The whole room is spinning." Her mouth was hung wide open as she stared at the ceiling, "Two is a good number though. Both girls."

"You can't pick and choose, Angel." I chuckled, turning off the light.

"I know, but I'm going to try to." She giggled, snuggling up close to me, "The whole room is spinning even faster." She groaned.

"Close your eyes and sleep." I chuckled, planting a kiss at the top of her head.

For that whole night, I listened to Lucy snore as I stared at the bedroom ceiling wondering if we had kids... would the kids would be like me, or Lucy. Would they be cursed with the same nasty gray skin that I had? Would the poor things end up with my auburn hair? Would they even have eyes...? Or would they look like their precious mother with the light skin, blonde hair and emerald eyes? 

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I literally almost deleted a huge chunk of this chapter on accident. Only I could be that unlucky! Anywhos- I made it to 100 followers and almost 400 reads on SoB! My heart is meltingggggg. Thank you all so much, and thank everyone who has read this! The second I hit 500 reads I am literally going to fly out of my apartment with excitement.
Also, I am taking character suggestions- CP's/Marble Hornets that I haven't covered that you would like to see in the story! Just PM me (or leave a comment, whichever you prefer!)
Also- Don't forget to vote! ;)
Hope everyone has a wonderful day/night!!
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Updated on: September 22, 2017 & May 22, 2018