Hours had passed, the sun had disappeared behind the thick forest of trees that lined the side and back of the house. The room had grown dark, the sandwiches were slightly stale. The two hadn't moved from their position. Toby still had his arm around (Y/N), the girl was leaning into him, her eyes closed in sleep.

She had cried herself to exhaustion, and Toby had too much heart to try and move away. So he just accepted his fate as the pillow and sat at the foot of the door. He didn't have much else to do, just took in the room around him as he had done many times before. The posters of cute animals on the wall next to the window, something he never took notice of until now, the small desk that had notebooks and paper all over it, a spot for a laptop cleared and starting to look dusty.

The bed, whose sheets were a mess after Toby's countless nights of restless sleep. He felt bad for the girl next to him, knowing she had taken the place on the floor so he could have the comfy mattress. It didn't make much of a difference where he slept, because not only did he not feel it, but he hardly slept anyway.

Harry climbed out from under the bed, yawning and stretching his front legs in front of him. His head perked up when he saw the two humans and he walked over, sniffing (Y/N) and then Toby. His tail started wagging and he licked over Toby's mask, the man chuckled and gave the dog a pat on the head,

"Wh-Wh-Who's a goo-ood boy?" Toby asked, and the dog's tail wagged quicker at the praising question.

The boy chuckled, and Harry the changed his attention back to (Y/N). He walked over and laid next to her, resting his head on her thigh. He was a very good boy indeed, looking after his owner. It was a shame he couldn't stand up for her, Toby was sure the dog would rip people in two for the girl if he was smart enough.

Did Harry know what had gone on? Was that why he cuddled up to her right now? Or did he just know she was upset, he knew something was wrong?

Toby let out a sigh, turning his brown gaze towards the window. He wished he knew as well. And the murderer was sure it had to do with the girl's mother, but he couldn't jump to conclusions. He'd question (Y/N) about it when she woke up. He'd question why she suddenly wants to leave this place so bad.

Where would she even go? Toby reached over the girl's head to scratch at his masked-cheek, he didn't know of any other immediate family she had, and everyone at the funeral clearly wouldn't accept her into their homes. She couldn't just live on the street either, he wouldn't allow that.

And that's when an idea came to mind.

-No. Absolutely not- Slender was in his head in an instant, his voice sounded snappy.

-Oh come on boss, she has nowhere else to go, clearly no one here is treating her well- Toby said in his mind, closing his eyes.

-No, it's not even an option, I'd drop it now- Slenderman ordered.

-But where else is she going to go?- The man leant his head on her, her hair tickled his nose slightly but he didn't react, -She can't stay here-

-She is a liability to us, she will not be coming back with you- The demonic voice stated, -Whether she would reveal us or not, she is not needed here-

-But boss-

-Enough Tobias- Slenderman snapped once again, and Toby felt sick, the room started to spin, -You have disobeyed me for the last time, you are to return to the mansion immediately-

-With an injured leg?-

-You'll find a way-

Toby huffed and held his head with his spare hand, trying to ignore the sickness swirling around him, he frowned below the mask, -No. I'm staying here with (Y/N) until I've fully healed. It's what we agreed on, and this way I can keep an eye on her, and her family-

-Enough disobeying me- Slender growled, -I'll have Masky and Hoodie sent to collect you, if walking is such a problem-

-You know they'll kill her- The man clenched his fists. That was clearly his boss' intentions, considering the rage he felt stirring in his chest. A mix of his own, and Slenderman's. But what was his boss so mad about? He was just doing his job.

His head couldn't stop spinning, and he wasn't sure if it was just Slender trying to force him to obey, or if he was doing it to himself, if his anger was getting out of control. The man could hardly think straight with everything going on.

-Why is it suddenly okay to kill her anyway?- Toby asked, if his inside voice had teeth, they'd be clenched, -I thought the whole reason I wasn't killing her was because she was a liability-

-It's as you said, no one is treating her kindly here, they won't even notice she is gone- Slender said in a slightly calmer tone, -Her mother is out every night doing God knows what, and her brother is too high to even care about her anymore-

A growl left Toby's throat, and Harry lifted his head in curiosity, watching the other as he shook and twitched. (Y/N) started to stir at his side, shifting and falling into his lap. Toby froze and glanced down at her, patting her head to calm her, to calm himself. His twitching slowed back down to its normal level. He let out a sigh and leant his head back. He was slowly pushing the rage from his mind, from his stomach. The dizziness died down as well, Slender clearly loosening his grip on his Proxy.

Then, Toby wondered what his boss meant by his words. Her brother was too high to notice? They had joked about him taking drugs, Slender clearly mistook that as them saying he was on drugs.

-That doesn't matter, get ready to come home- Slender said, also sounding more calm.

-I already told you no, boss- The boy said, and although the nausea started to return, he did his best to ignore it, he wasn't going to back down, -Either she comes back with me, or I stay here with her until I'm ready to leave. I won't do anything else-

-Why must you be so stubborn?- Slender asked, and Toby could mentally picture his boss rubbing his head, pinching at the skin between his eyes, where his nose would have been located if he had one. And for the first time in this conversation, Toby actually spoke,

"I-I don't know... I just... Li-Like her an-and want to keep her sa-afe..." He said, looking down at the girl again, smoothing the hair around her ear. He felt calm looking at her, even if he was still twitching lightly.

-That is what I feared- Slenderman said, -You are to remember your place Toby, you are my Proxy, which means your place is by my side, working for me. You're not meant to be with some strange girl who you've only just met. You could never be with another person-

Toby tried to ignore him, feeling a slight ache in his chest at the last part. Why could he never be with another person? Did Slenderman mean that in the Proxy sense, or the literal, he'd never be able to live with another person sense?

-Why do you even care for her?- His boss asked next, -There are many other girls out there that could have terrible parents, she's not some special case-

-But she is- Toby returned to using his thoughts, -She's kind to me boss, and she's accepting. My ticking doesn't annoy her, and she's patient with my stutter. She hasn't forced me to take my mask off either, she... Treats me like a person, not a monster. It's different, new, I like it-

-But you are a monster- His boss reminded him, -You're the monster in the closet that murders people for fun-

-I don't care- Toby shook his head, -I'm staying boss-

There was a sigh, silence for a while. He could swear the mythological creature muttered about something being a mistake, said something about Toby returning. He was clearly in his own head right now, but he hadn't shut the telepathy off.

The man was silent as he listened, trying to decipher what was going on. Nothing else ran through his mind while his boss was there, nothing else could.

-I will return boss, as soon as I'm healed and I know (Y/N) is safe- Toby tried to reassure the other, -And once I know she is safe, that will be the end of it-

-Fine, you will come back when you are healed- Slenderman said, and Toby let out a sigh of relief.

-Thank you boss- He said, but Slender mentally raised a hand, Toby could see it now.

-On one condition-

-What's that?-

-Once you're to return you will kill her. I need to know you still pledge your full loyalty to me. No saying no. There will be no more of this nonsense.-