Jeff was... alright. It was about what you'd expect from taking in a teenage serial killer into your house. He ate a lot of food, ducked in a panic whenever cops passed by the house, and for some reason left knives everywhere. In weird places, too. Like he found one underneath the couch cushions.

It was weird. Not terrifying, though. Sans didn't feel like he was in any danger under the same roof as him. Which he should, he pointed out one day. But he just didn't. The only thing he seemed to perceive as a threat was the man who killed that girl. That he saw one time. And never saw again.

"Is it normal to be scared of only the one guy?" Sans asked at the counter one day, knife pausing as he cut up a sandwich for Jeff.

"What do you mean?" Smile Dog asked, paws laying gently on the counter.

A distant car drove past, the engine roaring outside as sirens wailed. That was frequent, since this state was heavily filled with the killers. And monsters were easy pickings for victims. Especially since there was less of a body to hide, and more of something to just sweep up.

"I'm not afraid of Jeff at all," Sans said, "I mean, I got to know you a bit before I found out you were a killer, but... I dunno, it's just a little weird I guess."

"Weird?"

"I mean, the whole situation is weird, sure, but... still, it feels weird."

It was weird indeed.

"By the way, where is Jeff?" Sans asked.

"He's..." Smile Dog paused. A quick, panicked expression crossed his face. "He better be in this house."

"What does that mean?" Sans asked, and as if frozen in time, he didn't move.

"That damn - I love Jeff, but he gets into so much trouble I can't stand it."

Claws clicked against the floor as he went towards the T.V, poking his head through the screen. After a few seconds, he drew back, with a large scowl on his face.

"Jeff has a habit of getting into fights with a certain person, and he decided to up and sneak out behind my back and fight then tonight!" He marched over to the couch, dropping his collar, and turned back to Sans. "That means I have to find her before he does so he doesn't get himself killed. I'll probably be out until nighttime."

Sans looked towards the clock. 2 pm. So far, he could go a good chunk of time before he'd need a CreepyPasta presence again. He should be fine.

"Okay, be safe," Sans said.

~~~~~~

It was the text that alerted Sans. It was just starting to darken when he saw it. Undyne had sent him something.

"Come down to the station right now, I need you to confirm something."

A little bit antsy, Sans glanced towards the clock. He could probably go a little bit longer. But... He wasn't sure if he could make it outside alone.

It was about the murder case, though. Which meant Slenderman might...

He might actually be caught. And if she ended up executing him, all of this anxiety, fears, insanity, it'd all be over. Gone. For good.

So he grabbed his keys and drove.

After having a brief panic attack in the car, he managed to drag himself out to station. It felt wrong to be there. He didn't even know why. It just did.

The walls felt too tall and pasty white, the bars looked cold and empty. Undyne wearing her uniform, too, looked weird. She greeted him with a solid nod. As they walked in one sided silence, he glanced at an empty prison cell.

His feet, instead of wanting to walk forward, almost wanted to turn and deliver himself into the cell.

"I know you said a different description when you testified," Undyne said when they arrived. She looked at him softly, voice more careful than usual. She was in victim mode, which she usually used on people whenever they were victims in a crime. He was quite used to hearing that voice from her by now whenever questions about the case arose. "And I know you're pretty certain it's... whatever you described, but this person might be who you saw. He has pale skin and he could have been wearing something black."

"Who is it?" Sans asked quietly. Now that he knew it wasn't Slenderman, his anxiety calmed to only a harsh whisper. Way better than the intense screams from before.

She pointed through a nearby cell. And Sans would have shit his pants if he could.

Because it was fucking Jeff!

Sans made a surprised noise from the back of his throat as he stared across at him. Looks like he didn't realize how intense the streets were being watched. His hair was ruffled up, his nose bloody, and a frown covered his mouth. When he saw Sans, his eyes widened for a moment, before he looked away.

"No, I uh..." Fuck. How the hell did Jeff get caught in the one hour they hadn't seen him before Smile Dog left? What the heck?

"Do you actually recognize him?" Undyne asked quickly, leaning in with interest.

"No, I only recognize him from the news," Sans said, "I know what I saw before, alright? It wasn't him that killed the little girl."

"Ugh." Undyne leaned back, taking a small glance at him. "Either way, we're sending him to a more secure prison. Then this killer brat is going to be executed. So once we're done with him, we can keep looking for the guy who killed the kid that you saw, alright?"

They were going to...

"Execute?" Sans asked quietly.

"Well, yeah, duh," Undyne said, looking as if this was the most obvious answer. "This kid may look young, but he has a nasty kill streak. He's the same type of killer that killed that girl."

But he wasn't. Jeff wasn't like Slenderman. Right?

They might be. In fact, he was literally the same species. Who could say Jeff was any better than the man who killed that innocent little girl? But Jeff, too, was just a kid. Smile Dog was just a normal dog.

Or was it the other way? That all of the Creepypasta were misunderstood, and that Slenderman, too, might be...

"Do you mind if I can stay with him alone for a bit?" Sans asked, pointing towards Jeff. "I know it sounds weird but I... I want closure for what I saw. And you know, he kills so maybe he could help me understand why that man did what he did."

She took one long look at Sans then turned with a single huff.

"Fine. Tell me if he spits out any evidence."

Even if she was worried, Jeff couldn't do anything to Sans. Not only was he handcuffed twice, he was behind thick steal bars and weaponless. Humans weren't that threatening like this. And Sans could teleport, so he was pretty darn safe.

"Smile Dogs going to kill you," Sans said.

Jeff grinned at that response. "Really? You're starting off with that? You could have laughed in my face, made fun of me, fucking even ask me why I do this shit - but you said that?"

Sans shrugged. "It's not my place to judge, honestly."

Jeff couldn't seem to muster up a response. He just growled and shuffled back against the wall to get a better position.

"Fine, I fucking admit it, I screwed up. Got too excited and went to go kill my bitchy rival. Turns out she just called the police herself and it was just a trap. Alright? I was stupid and now I'm going to pay the damn price."

At least he knew where he messed up. Not a lot of people would admit that. Guess Jeff had to learn his own faults real quick in his... line of work.

"I'll have Smile Dog come get you tonight, since it'd be kinda suspicious for me to let you out on camera," Sans said.

"Yet it's fine for you to talk to me on camera so casually?" Jeff snorted.

"Nah, it's good. They're video only. Undyne complains about it constantly. She even complained on the way in when we got here."

It was true. She ranted almost the entire walk to Jeff's cell about how she wished they had audio. The audio had been busted for awhile, but they just never got around to fixing it yet.

"Why are you doing this?" Jeff asked.

"What?"

"This." He motioned around. "Talking to me. Letting me stay at your house to avoid the cops. You aren't even looking for other CreepyPasta to get rid of Slenderman's powers on you. And you could have just thrown me and Smile Dog under the bus now that you have me behind bars. I don't get your game."

"I..." Sans looked to the ground. "I don't really have a game , I guess. I've always sorta believed there has to be a story behind people, even if they murder. So I'd like to hear the stories before I decide their place in my life, ya know? And yours might be a hell of a story if you're just a kid killing. And honestly..."

Another deep breath. He hasn't said this out loud in years.

"You're not the only one in this room who's killed someone, bud," Sans admitted.

The reaction was immediate. Jeff rose with curiosity, and his grin returned. Not a mocking one, just one of... inclusion. A deep understanding immediately took hold over him, even if it was only slight.

"Really?" Jeff asked.

"Self defense, I guess, but still..." Sans muttered, "So that's why I'm kinda open about this stuff, too. I may not be like you, whatever you are, but that doesn't mean you aren't a person. And I might as well treat ya like one if no one else will."

Sans was about to say something else, but the door to his left budged open, causing Sans to glance over. Undyne. One finger pointed out and motioned towards her, the single yellow eye watching Jeff carefully. Guess she was watching the cameras and thought he looked suspicious.

"Come on, I don't trust him very long with you," She said. "I don't want him doing anything that'll make you worse than you already are. I meant - uh, fuck, ignore that. Oh fuck it, who cares, just get on out of here. If this ain't the guy that killed the girl I don't need you here anymore."

Eh. Sans understood where she was coming from. He shot one final look at Jeff, who was giving a glare to Undyne, before he shuffled off.

~~~~~~

When Jeff got back that night, he gave Sans a hug.

An awkward one, sure, but a hug nevertheless. He didn't even say anything to Sans. After Sans told Smile Dog where Jeff was, he deactivated the security cameras and brought the boy back through Sans' T.V. When Jeff climbed through and saw Sans, he slowly walked over and gave the weird hug.

"I've never had anyone say that to me," Jeff said.

"What?" Sans asked, looking at him.

Jeff, despite being younger, was taller. So he was slightly leaning down to hug Sans during this encounter.

"Even other CreepyPasta have talked to me as some sort of weird entity than a person, and I... I just dunno how to respond," Jeff mumbled, "But I wanna stay here and help you with the curse. You give me food and a place to stay, and in return I'll help you lessen Slenderman's effects."

He was still just a kid. That was something Sans almost forgot from time to time. Jeff was a boy. A teenager, scared, lost, confused, who had nothing but his knives and a dog. No friends, family, nothing. And the look he gave almost reminded Sans of Papyrus when Papyrus struggled for friends.

"Sure, we can do that," Sans said, "And, uh..."

"Yeah?"

"Stop leaving your knives on the floor."