Masky's pov

I've done nothing but made a mess of things! Toby hates me, I can't remember a damn thing, my headaches, and now I've gone and lost him. Great, just perfect. I thought to myself, pulling out another cigarette and lighting it. What am I to do with these thoughts and feelings for you, Toby? I sulked, resting my head against the large tree trunk once again and closing my eyes. "Are you going after him or do I have to do it?" Brian's voice cut through the air, I looked to my left to where he lay on the forest floor. His mask remained on and he was yet to stir from his place. "He said not to follow him, but who's he to give us orders? He's under our foot and frankly, I wouldn't complain," he paused, "but remember what the masters' orders were?" He sat up in the pile of leaves and lifted his mask to reveal his eyes. "You haven't forgotten now, have you? Need to be reminded perhaps." His eyes shot daggers into my very soul.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, of course, I remembered, how could I possibly forget orders such as these? Master has repeated these same orders many times, though this is the first time it hurt. I'd hoped he would let it slide this time, but once again, I've been proven wrong. Guilt pooled in my stomach and bile began to rise in my throat. "I can and will retrieve him, Tim," Brian muttered calmly, but his eyes told a completely different story. I shuddered as I watched him get up from the leafy ground. "If you're not going to do it, I will. Don't think for a second I won't harm him if he shows even the slightest bit of resistance." He growled, trudging through the leaves.

"Wait! I'll get him! I'll do it." I finally gave in, the feelings I had for Toby were making me weak. I have to do this, he can pass the test, I know he can. Then he can come home with us, he can prove himself, just as the rest of us did. "I'll get him, Brian. Just, please don't hurt him." I pleaded the hooded male glared at me angrily.

"Don't be getting attached to him. You know what happens if he fails the test." Hoody snapped, I sighed knowingly before getting up and going after Toby. He can't fail, he won't! But if he does, that'll be it. No. He can't, not Toby, I won't do it. "I won't do it, damn it!" I yelled angrily to the sky, my fists clenched tightly. I sighed, my fists unclenched and I kept walking. I didn't need to go far, I spotted him climbing up an old ladder on the side of an old tree. I sighed and started up after him, cursing him for making me climb this stupid tree. One of the steps gave way and nearly sent me falling 20 feet down to the muddy ground. I breathed heavily and kept climbing, careful not to make any more 'steps' fall. As I climbed higher, I realized that the other trees were getting quite far away. They looked a lot smaller than they had when I'd been on the ground. It was strange, yet peaceful.

Finally, my head poked through a square-shaped hole in the bottom of what seemed to be a large wooden box. It was an old treehouse, it was empty, dusty, deserted. Even the spiders had seemed to dislike this place. I looked out the small square window, the pale moonlight pouring into it. A brown-haired boy sat just outside of it, the moonlight lighting up his face. My eyes widened as I got closer, his eyes glistening in the moonlight, his chestnut-colored hair waving ever so slightly in the calm nightly breeze. The unusual sad expression that rested on his face had melted away and allowed a sense of calm to rest on his seeming porcelain face. For a moment, I think I lost myself in those tantalizing, hazel eyes. "Are you going to gawk at me or are you going to join me?" His voice snapped me out of my trance and I nodded, blushing slightly as I made my way over to the wooden balcony right outside the small window.

"Sorry, I didn't want to startle you," I muttered apologetically to the teen. He smiled and let out a scoff.

"Sure, that's why you were watching me with such intriguing eyes, so enraptured." He said smugly, laughing quietly as he did. I sat next to him and looked at the moon in silence. We both stayed like that for a couple of minutes before he broke the silence. "It's beautiful up here, isn't it?" I nodded with a content hum and smiled. "Did you ever have a treehouse as a kid?" I sighed, I'm already attached to him enough and now he's asking about my life? How the hell am I going to put him through the test now? I finally shook my head, ready to reveal my whole fucked up life.

"No, I actually spent the majority of my years in the medical hospital and then mental hospitals later," I told him slowly, lifting my head to see his expression. From most people, it was fear or pity but Toby was different. He just sat quietly and listened, silently encouraging me to go on. I smiled at him and told him about my experiences, where my episodes came from and why I had them. How I went from a psychiatric hold escapé to a slave of Zalgo, and finally to a loyal proxy of The Operator. The entire time he seemed intrigued in my rather boring story. His eyes lit up like fireflies in the night sky as I described what the underworld was like. When I finally finished, he looked at me as if I had just granted him his only wish. He's so young and naive, I thought to myself, greatly sorrowed by the future events soon to come. "What about you? What has your life been like up until you found us, or rather, we found you?" I questioned simply, but this simple question seemed to shatter this boy's world. His eyes dulled and his entire aura changed. He hung his head and steadily told me how he, his mom, and his sister lived under constant terror of his father. He would beat them all black and blue and his sister, Lyra would always protect him. But one day there was a terrible car accident causing his sister to die.

"She was s-singing along to the sniff the music o-on the radio. W-We didn't see the c-car coming our way." He stuttered heavily, his eyes clouding as he spoke. "S-She was shot through the hic the windshield," the tears rolled down his cheeks and his stutter got even worse. I watched him as he collapsed onto his knees. "T-The doctors hic c-couldn't...couldn't s-save her!" He gagged and sobbed loudly, rubbing his eyes with his hands. I pulled him close and tried to hold him but he only resisted more the harder I tried.

"Toby, you don't have to tell me if it's too painful for you. It's oka-,"

"N-No! No..no...I-I want to sniff t-tell you." He sniffled, tears still leaking heavily from his eyes. I frowned and nodded at him, holding his hand tightly. He took a minute to breathe before resuming. "S-She didn't make it, I only g-got a broken a-arm. And I c-can't e-even feel i-it!" He cried, trying not to gag, "I-It's all my f-fault! I-If I h-had crack seen the car s-sooner hic the-then...then..." he broke down crying in front of me, a complete mess in my lap. I frowned and pulled him up to hold him.

"Don't say that Toby, nothing is your fault. Don't even think for a moment that any of it is your fault." My eyes had become foggy, Tobys cries broke my heart. I hugged him closer and he wrapped his arms around my back, sobbing into my chest. He cried for hours, mumbling things about his sister and how he had killed his father. How good it felt to kill him after everything he'd done. But then he talked about his mother, the broken expression on her face as she walked into the living room that night. Eyeing her dead husband and bloody son, his murderer. How Lyra's corpse still haunted him and the night terrors he couldn't ever seem to shake.

I held him and rubbed his back trying to soothe him throughout the night but to no avail. Though he finally wore himself out and fell asleep in my arms. Tear stains fresh under his eyes and on my shirt, though I didn't mind. His eyes were red and puffy, my shirt had been drenched with tears. I looked down at him sadly and pet his head as he slept. I laid down on the wooden floor inside the treehouse and pulled the brown-haired boy into my side. He snuggled into my jacket and sighed contently. This poor boy had been through Hell, I'd already felt bad for him just looking at his file. Now hearing everything first hand just made me feel worse. He breathed lightly and snuggled closer making me smile. I rubbed his head and thought about what he had said earlier, how I'd kissed him.

My face burned out of embarrassment as I looked down at his sleeping form. His face was so peaceful, the redness of his eyes only slightly noticeable now. I moved his bangs out of his face and stared down at the beautiful, unconscious face. I swallowed hard and sat up, I can't believe I'm about to do this, I thought shakily. I took in a deep breath and leaned down to Toby's sleeping form. My right hand slid up the side of his face to cup his cheek in my hand. I swallowed hard and steadily got closer to his face. My eyes locked onto his lips for a few seconds before I inched forward and touched my lips to his. Toby's eyes slowly opened and looked me dead in the eye. I froze in my place, his shaky breath touched my lips. His eyes searched mine as I slowly pulled my lips away and struggled to explain myself.

"I-I'm sorry, I wasn't think-," though my explanation was cut off with Toby swiftly catching my lips with his own. My eyes went wide and my face went red as he pulled me back down to the floor. Toby closed his eyes and gently kissed me, my eyelids fluttering shut as I kissed him back. His fingers entangled in my already messy brown hair, trailing down to my sideburns. My right hand still cupped his cheek, my left hand found its way under Toby's shirt. He gasped lightly causing us to pull apart for breath. We both huffed quietly, Toby looking deeply into my eyes and I doing the same to him. The younger male cupped my face with both his hands and smiled innocently. A blush rose to my cheeks causing a feverish heat to take over my face. Dammit, why is he so cute? His flavor is addicting, how could I forget something that feels so good?

"Don't forget this one, ok?" Toby chirped, winking at me. My eyes went wide and a smirk formed across my lips.

"Don't you worry you're pretty little head about it, Tobias." Toby hummed in response to this. I smiled and leaned down to kiss him again.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" A familiar voice snapped, bringing Toby and me out of our little trance. We both looked over to see Brian poking his head up from the entrance of the treehouse. A feeling of dread washed over me, I could tell that Toby felt it too. "Is this where you've been all night?" He snapped again, "I tell you not to get fucking attached and this is what you do? Get a fucking grip, Tim!" Toby and I looked at each other unsteadily, then back to Brian. I sat up and allowed Toby to sit up as well. Brian just scoffed at the both of us before disappearing from the small entrance. Toby and I sat in silence for a bit, unsure of what to do or say.

"S-Sorry, it looks like I g-got you in trouble. Your b-boyfriend seems pretty p-pissed about this." Toby stuttered I nodded about to agree with him until it registered what he'd actually said.

"B-Boyfriend?" I asked, as lost and confused as ever. Toby looked at me confused too.

"Yeah, I th-thought that guy is a y-your boyfriend?" He questioned, seemingly less and less sure of himself as he continued.

"Wait, you thought Brain was my boyfriend?" I questioned, utterly confused, Toby just nodded. "If you thought Brian was my boyfriend, why were you letting me kiss you?" I asked out of curiosity, Toby thought for a moment.

"Well, he s-seemed like a b-bad boyfriend and I like you so it worked out for b-both of us it seemed." We both just stared at each other for a moment before I began to laugh. Toby watched in silence while I had my laughing fit.

"I'm sorry but that's just great," I laughed, struggling to breathe. Once I finally stopped I looked at Toby and smiled, "I like you too, Toby, a lot. If you couldn't already tell after all that." I said, gesturing to the floor where we laid only minutes before. It hadn't been heated or anything but the tingling on my lips hadn't even started to fade. I hoped that it never would.

Hey guys, the chapter is finally out, I'm sorry it took so long but I've been dealing with a lot lately and have had a lot to do. I don't know when the next chapter will come out but thanks for being patient with me. Once again, I'm sorry it took so long, I'll try to be better about it in the future. Bye!