Once Toby was settled into (Y/N)'s room, the girl set on making him a new and better brace for his ankle. The girl had rummaged through the utensils draw in the kitchen and deciding on some sturdy looking salad mixers and some proper gauze from under the sink, she had gotten rid of the sticks and leaves she had used prior.

Once that was done, she looked over Toby's appearance, his clothes were dirty, covered in grass and blood and dirt. Her bed was probably already tainted from it, but the girl bit her lip on that comment, deciding a much... Nicer approach,

"Would you like some clean clothes?" She asked, "I could look through my brother's stuff, you look to be his size, and I could wash what you're wearing now."

"N-No." Toby stated, his shoulder twitching.

"But... Your clothes are dirty, I don't think they've ever been cleaned. Surely you'd feel nicer in something more fresh?"

"D-Don't... Feeeel..." He said, "Doesn't b-bother me-e..."

"Alright." The girl raised her hands, "Well, you're hidden from the world now, so you don't need to wear your goggles or that face mask. You can take them off if you like."

"N-No." He shook his head, his hand moving up to his left cheek. He seemed to think about it, before shaking his head again, "D-Definitely not."

"Not even the goggles? Your vision must be so affected by only seeing orange."

The boy was silent for a moment, only his ticking could be heard, and (Y/N) wondered if keeping him here was going to be worth it or not. He hardly said much else; would he even answer any questions she had for him?

Something clattered on her bedside table, catching her attention. Toby had just put his goggles down, keeping his eyes lowered to his lap. He moved his gloved hands in front of him, leaning against the behind the bed, his injured leg extended; the other dangled over the side. The girl smiled at him, taking her place on her desk chair and rolling over to him,

"I have a lot of questions I want to ask you, will you answer them?" She asked.

He was silent for a moment, his eyes darting up the wall as if listening to something, he then gave a shrug,

"D-Depends..."

"On the question?"

He nodded, and the girl rubbed her hands together,

"Alright, well time to find out my boundaries I guess." She chuckled, "Can I ask about Slenderman?"

He shook his head.

"What about the Proxies? How do you guys work? What's the go between you and your boss? Why do you kill so many people?"

He shook his head again.

The girl huffed, leaning her arms on the back of her chair,

"So hardly any of my questions then..."

"I-I... Have a ques-question for you." Toby said, turning his gaze to her. (Y/N) saw his eyes for the first time, a dark chocolate brown, just darker than the hair that poked out from his hoodie. They held an intense gaze, almost sort of clouded. Just sitting under their gaze made the girl feel intimidated, but she didn't show it.

"Go for it." She said, clearing her throat and looking around the room, "But you'll have boundaries too."

The twitching male nodded, shifting to make himself comfortable. Once he was, he stared at (Y/N), a look of curiosity and awe taking his features,

"Wh-Why are you ssso invest-ted in Slenderman? A-And whyyy are you n-now keep-p-ping ssilent ab-about his exis-stence consid-dering you werrre going t-to out us to th-the world? Y-You have yourr proof, why cha-ange your m-mind now?"

The girl was silent now, listening to his question. Once she understood she simply shrugged,

"Why haven't you killed me for researching Slenderman so much and wanting to prove he existed?"

Toby stopped himself, his head twitching to the side. Should he answer? She had evaded his own question, clearly not wanting to give in to what he and his boss wanted. Speaking of Slenderman, the legendary monster was now silent in Toby's mind, which didn't help as to whether he should answer or not. So, he decided to make the decision himself.

"C-Can't... Say..." He shrugged.

(Y/N) pouted, crossing her arms over the back of the chair, "Of course not. Well... What questions will you answer then?"

"I-I can't... Rea-Really say anythiiing with-without my b-b-oss' permissssion." The man said, giving another shrug.

"Okay well... Why is he so secretive?"

"I-I can't... Sayyy..."

"Fine." (Y/N) rolled her eyes.

There was silence for a moment, it felt awkward; thick.

"Y-You never... Answered m-my quessstion." Toby said next, squirming in the awkwardness, "Wh-Why are you s-so invest-ted in Slenderman...? And wh-why haven't yo-ou exp-posed us?"

The girl looked at him again, hesitating to answer the question once again. Does she tell him the truth? Why should she? Knowing she isn't going to tell anyone could result in her death but... It could also result in them not needing to kill her.

She let out a sigh, sitting on her chair properly and leaning back against it, her eyes on the ceiling. It was strange, this will be the first time she admits it out loud. Toby watched, waiting for her answer, wondering why her mind was changed.

He took in her form, how she suddenly seemed so... Insecure. Like she was about to admit to a big secret, and the guy found himself even more interested in what she had to say. He cared so much for a simple answer, why does she suddenly care about their discreteness?

"I don't know really..." The girl started, rubbing her arm, "I just... Came across the Creepypasta one day, and I was instantly just... Captured by everything. I found it so interesting, it was like I found a piece of me and..."

She gave a light chuckle, "It's stupid really, but I started doing research, looking into the fanart, and then I came across a few articles suggesting Slenderman to be real. I thought it was ridiculous but... I did my own digging, learnt about, well everything, and here I am."

The girl rubbed the back of her neck, "I wanted to know if he was real or not, it's a wide debate on the internet, and if I could prove it to be true, well I'd be so popular, I would have answered one of the biggest mythical questions online."

Her face turned sad, "It was... An escape really, something else I could focus on, put my mind in to. Something to get me away from my thoughts, from everyone's thoughts. I felt smart, useful, it just... I don't know, I really needed it."

Toby couldn't help but feel bad for (Y/N), watching her explain it all, hearing how it had helped her. He had been in her shoes with a terrible father, he understood. It was strange really, to think that the same girl that was hunting them down had a similar problem that he did; he'd never felt relatable to anyone until now. He smiled behind the mask.

And then, a smile spread out over her cheeks as well, "And who would have thought, I really was able to escape. One of the Proxies... Came to my rescue. Saved me from the torment of my daily life. I never thought it would be possible and yet... It was."

"S-So... Why didn't y-you... Prove our exist-t-tence...?" Toby pressed forward.

She stopped talking, grabbing her (h/c) hair in her fingers and twirling it around. She'd said so much already, more than she was meaning to say. And what she was about to say next, well, considering what she assumed...

"My father was in an accident..." She said next, "His car caught fire and exploded, he was inside it."

"I-I'm..." Toby stopped, knowing what he did, why he did it, and what sort of person her father was, was an apology really necessary?

-Considering she doesn't know you murdered him- Slender said in his mind, causing the boy to jump.

-Fair point- He nodded.

"I'm... S-Sorry..." He said, "L-Losing someone iss... Har-ard..."

"Oh, don't be sorry." The girl waved her hand, "Honestly, I think he was murdered, and I think it was one of you Proxies that did it."

Toby froze, completely surprised by her confident claim. Even Slenderman swore in his mind. Should he own up to it then? Should he tell her it was him?

-No, don't own up to it- Slender ordered next.

"(Y-Y/N)..." The boy started.

-What are you doing?- His boss' voice was stern, and Toby felt sick.

"You see..." The girl continued to talk, tapping her cheek lightly, bringing Toby back to the conversation, "On that day, when I ran outside to see what was going on... Do you want to know what I saw?"

"Wh-What...?" Toby asked, leaning forward.

"I saw a flash." (Y/N) said, a smirk spread out over her face, "An orange flash, like light reflecting off orange glass."

-Oh shit- Toby thought, knowing full well it was his goggles that had been the cause of that.

(Y/N) raised a brow at the boy's tired expression; she knew that he now understood, that he now knew that she knows. The girl pushed her chair over to the bed, placing a hand on the bedside table. Doing so made her feel like she was interrogating the poor man, but seeing his eyes dart around the room, she couldn't help but giggle. Slowly, she picked up his goggle, dangling them in front of his face,

"I wonder what that could have been... Hm?"

-Play dumb- Slender stated, -Don't let her know it was you-

-She already knows boss- Toby said, feeling Slender's anger swirl in his mind, -I-I'm sorry...-

-Try it anyway- Slender's voice held a growl to it.

"N-No... No clue..." Toby mumbled, keeping his eyes lowered.

"Tobias." The man flinched at his proper name, and (Y/N) saw that, she sat back slightly, seeing that his name upset him, she didn't want to push this any further, "I-I mean... Toby... Did you murder my father?"

He didn't know what to do; she practically had him cornered. Of course he had murdered her father, of course he had, why wouldn't he? He couldn't deny it, not even to her; he could never imagine lying to this girl. And... She used his proper name... That upset him. But she corrected herself as well, could she tell he didn't like his proper name...?

He ticked more erratically, closed his eyes tightly; wondering what her reaction would be if he admitted to the murder. He knew he had to do it, he knew he was going to. Even as Slender made the room start to spin.

Cautiously, he nodded his head, and the girl let out a sigh. It was silent for a moment, and then Toby felt a pair of arms wrap around his neck, he felt a body press against his own. Was (Y/N) hugging him? She had to be; which meant she wasn't going to respond negatively. Hugs were never negative. Toby... Hadn't had a hug in a long time.

"Thank you..." (Y/N) said, her arms tightened around him, "Thank you so much..."

And Toby smiled once again.