Toby was watching as (Y/N) walked around the graveyard; seeing the girl mindlessly glance at all the tombstones and wondering what she could be in such deep thought about. Unaware that she was in fact extremely focused.

He had been watching her since the death of her father, being able to convince Slenderman that it was necessary. The guy had to admit, he leant heavily on the fact that she could continue researching on her phone, and that her father's death has made her more suspicious. After hearing the girl talking to Harry about the evidence she had come across, well, Slender was convinced.

And Toby was glad it was that easy. Because deep down he just wanted to make sure (Y/N) was alright after what happened. He wanted to make sure she wasn't scarred by what she would have seen. And he was sure Slender knew this as well; his boss has been very persistent in his mind recently; not that he knew why or dared ask. Toby was sure his boss had his reasons.

Though his boss was also insistent on getting this mission out of the way. Slenderman would request Toby to come home quicker than usual, he seemed to be rushing Toby's tasks of checking in on (Y/N). It seemed as if it were almost an annoyance to the mythical legend; and the boy knew that if there was no risk of being outed, Slender would stop these missions indefinitely. And the Proxy didn't want that to be the case, as much as it confused him. He enjoyed his time checking on (Y/N), it just... Filled him with an emotion he doesn't remember having.

Sometimes he would even disobey Slender just to stay a little longer and watch the girl work or play with her dog. His boss seemed to hate it, he would always try to control Toby, make him feel sick or dizzy, weak even just to try and bring him home. Toby wasn't sure why Slenderman seemed so agitated by his visits to the girl, all he wanted to do was check on her. The boy felt like their lives were awfully familiar.

But back to (Y/N). So far, she seemed to be alright, in fact she was grateful for what had happened, and Toby couldn't deny it had boosted his ego just a little. His boss had to remind him it meant nothing to them, her father was just another every day kill, and Toby would agree, but he didn't let it go. Seeing the girl's smile made him feel like the best person in the world for what he did.

However, he wasn't liking how her mother was starting to treat her. Though he ruled it out as just grief; she'll come back around and be kind to (Y/N) once again. Slenderman was positive that was the case.

Toby, being deep in his thoughts, was unaware of the girl getting closer to the border of the forest. He was leaning against the tree as he stared at her, the realisation not clicking just yet. He even started to feel dizzy; Slenderman's warning to snap out of his trance.

The man blinked, shaking his head as he came back to reality. The world spun slightly, his boss' handywork, and then his gaze met hers. Toby froze, the scenario finally snapping in his mind as the girl started running towards him.

Oh shit.

Toby took off in the opposite direction, ducking and dodging trees in the hopes to lose her. He couldn't let her catch him, if she did Slenderman would have her killed for sure. They were in the forest after all, and if she found out Toby's identity it would be over, she'd have confirmed knowledge that Slenderman and his Proxies existed.

"Wait!" (Y/N) called out as she chased him into the forest, Toby ignored her; hoping she would give up the chase. He didn't want her to meet the same fate her father had.

Toby glanced behind him to see the girl was still, in fact, chasing him. Better yet, she was gaining on him, he wouldn't have thought of her to be athletic at all, she hardly left her room, how in the ever-loving fuck was she catching up?

-Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit- Toby thought as he ran.

He tripped.

-Fuck-

The guy yelped as he fell, more in surprise than pain as he hadn't seen the giant tree root sticking out of the ground. Hoping his ankle wasn't too severely damaged, he tried to get up. Everything seemed alright until he went to take a step, and he fell flat on his face. Dammit what had he done to himself now?

(Y/N) managed to catch up as Toby tried to get to his feet again, not even sure which ankle he had now hurt. He ticked, tried to push himself up with his left foot, only for his leg to buckle, making him fall again. He had to get away from her, Slenderman will have her killed. Toby wasn't sure how that would make him feel.

"Hey... Are you alright...?" The girl asked him, leaning on her knees next to him and panting.

Toby only ignored her, trying to get up again and hitting the dirt. He wished he could tell what was wrong with his body, maybe he'd be able to get away from her if he knew. His head twitched to the side, and his ticking started to pick up. He was getting frantic.

-Don't say a word...- Slenderman said in his ear, and he gritted his teeth, -You got yourself into this mess, you can get yourself out-

-Thanks boss- Toby huffed to himself, keeping his goggled gaze to the grassy floor.

(Y/N) pouted slightly, considering he wasn't responding to her. Right, she was going to have to dive deep here, no beating around the bush.

"Are you... A Proxy...?" She asked, biting her lip. Her eyes were trained on his back, which was stiff as he froze. Was he hoping she'd go away? What exactly was she risking being here right now? No, don't get carried away (Y/N), focus. You could get your answers now.

Her eyes roamed over the male below her, taking in his dirty hoodie, the mud-coated jeans, his twisted ankle.

"Oh my God!" She exclaimed, kneeling next to him, "Your ankle, are you alright? Does it hurt? Keep staying still, I'll have a look at it."

Toby didn't respond, but he did follow her order. Stay still, don't move. And don't talk either.

-Oh, so you listen to her, but not your boss?- Slender asked, almost sarcastically. It was strange, Toby had never heard Slenderman be sarcastic. It just... Wasn't in his nature.

-Kinda in a sticky situation- Toby thought, hoping his boss would be a little more lenient with him right now.

-One you wouldn't be in if you listened to me-

Ugh, Toby wasn't going to deal with this right now. He blocked Slender out as best as he could as he felt hands touch his ankle. (Y/N) must be checking to see if it's broken, though Toby wasn't sure how she'd know, she didn't seem to be the all-knowing type.

"Alright, I think it's just sprained, but that's no good anyway. Can you stand on it?"

Toby kept his mouth shut, but he was ticking and shaking like crazy. He couldn't get his nerves under control. This was quite different from when he first saw (Y/N) through the window. Why was he so terrified right now? He couldn't stand on it, but he shouldn't tell her that. Knowing he can't escape will give her the one-up.

The girl huffed, once again being ignored. She looked around, before grabbing some twigs and leaves. Fine, she'll just assume the worst and help him as best as she could, whether he spoke or not. She was certain he was Proxy now that she had seen him, seen the hatchets that hung at his hips, noting his complete silence. He had also stayed still as she had ordered, so he was obedient. Proxies were meant to be obedient, to their boss anyway.

God this had to be Toby, right? One of the three Proxies of Slenderman the girl remembered reading about. He was ticking and twitching, he had something called Tourette's syndrome, right? She remembers reading about it, and about how Tobias Rogers had it, it was one of his most defining features.

Well that, and the goggles, mask, and hatchets.

She looked over him, seeing the mask pulled up over his nose, the defining orange goggles that had glinted in the light... Yep, this was him. It had to be. And he'd hurt himself trying to seal his identity from her. She had to help him; it was the least she could do for causing this problem. Changing her attitude on the situation, the girl got into first aid mode, glad to have learnt it last year at the request of her mother.

"I'm going to make a splint and try to support your leg in case it's worse than a sprain. It might hurt a little." She said, trying to offer some sort of comfort. Before doing her best to make a make-shift splint. It wasn't good, but it wasn't terrible either. It would be sturdy enough until she got him some proper help.

"Does it hurt at all?" She asked, once she put the splint on his leg.

"I-I ca...an't feel... A-Anything..." Toby muttered, lifting his head slightly.

-What are you doing?- Slenderman asked, his tone held anger in it, -I told you not to speak-

-She's not exactly going to leave me alone boss- Toby thought, -And I can't really run away. Besides, she's trying to help now anyway-

-Whatever, just be careful with what comes out of your mouth, understand?-

-Gotcha Boss-

"Wait, really?" (Y/N) blinked at him, pulling him from his thoughts, "But I saw you trying to get up, your leg was giving way. You can't feel anything?"

Toby hesitated, before shaking his head slowly, "N-Not... A thi-iing..."

The girl was silent for a moment, doing her best to understand the situation. Had she read something on this? Did she know about Toby's lack of feeling? It felt like she should have known this, but it was clearly something she had missed.

"I have... So many question." (Y/N) said, and Toby felt himself cringe slightly. Of course she did... Would he be able to answer any of them? He highly doubted that.

"But right now, I think we should get you home. I can probably help your leg more." She said, "I'm sure I could do enough research in dressing your ankle anyway."

The boy huffed, wondering if that was a smart idea. What did Slenderman think anyway? His boss was currently not responding, which was great, because he needed to know what to do. Toby raised his brown gaze to (Y/N), seeing her looking around them. Was she searching for something? The way back? Help?

She turned her head back down and their eyes locked. Toby blinked, not sure what to do, he was totally lost.

-I have an idea- Slenderman finally said in his mind, Toby let out a sigh of relief, -Lay low, watch her for a bit, keep an eyes on her, don't answer any of her questions about me or other Proxies... And as soon as you're healed, come straight back to me-

So basically keep (Y/N) from sticking her nose in our business? Toby closed his eyes, giving a slight nod.

"A-All riiight..." He mumbled, before slowly sitting up, facing the girl. She watched him, clearly excited but doing her best; and failing; to not show it, "H-H-How will we do-o this...?"