Slenderman's home? What does that mean? I've heard the name before, but I don't have any idea who this is, but from the sound of it, I should be terrified.

Suddenly, a loud static fills my ears, and then a booming, authoritative voice speaks amongst it. , it says. Where did that voice come from? It sounded so close, yet I know no one in this room could make their voice sound like that.

"Did you guys hear—?" I start to ask, but Ben interrupts me with a nod.

"That's Slenderman speaking," he explains, though that does nothing to pacify my confusion.

"He communicates through-through t-t-telepathy," Toby says. Telepathy? How is that even possible? I thought telepathy was just a super power used in movies and books! Surely this isn't real!

"If she h-heard it too... does-does that mean Slenderman already knows she-she's here?" Toby questions. I can't help but cower at the thought.

"Should she join us downstairs then? That would save us getting in trouble for hiding her—"

"No, Ben," Kate interrupts. "She'll stay up here... away from Slenderman."

Ben glances at me worriedly and Toby pouts. I don't know what I should do. The anxious feeling in my stomach is enough to make me nauseous. What will Slenderman do when he finds me? Will he kill me? Kick me out? Force me to stay? Hurt me? Torture me? The possibilities are endless, and none of them sound appealing.

Ben looks between Toby and Kate, contemplating over Kate's suggestion. After a few seconds, he sighs and hangs his head in defeat. "Fine. (Y/n), don't join us downstairs but wait at the top of the stairs, just in case. Is that a good enough compromise?"

Kate frowns. "No, it's safest for her to—"

"She listens to me," Ben exclaims, cutting her off. His voice is low and threatening. "and I say she waits at the stairs."

To say I'm scared would be an understatement. I hug myself to keep my hands from shaking and to feign some sort of comfort, though it does nothing to help. Why can't I just hide in the room? Or, better yet, why can't I just go home? Home is familiar. Home has Snickers. Home is comfortable. Home is safe. I miss home.

"Okay, le-let's go, then," Toby says, clearly uncomfortable with Ben's outburst. They all stand up and look down at me, waiting for me to stand as well. I don't want to stand up. I don't want to move. I just want the four of us to stay here and play Minecraft. Is that too much to ask?

Toby pokes my shoulder to get my attention and he offers me a hand when I look up at him. I shakily accept and place my hand in his, letting him pull me up to my feet. I glance at him and notice he doesn't wear his usual happy-go-lucky expression: this one holds more of a solemn fear, and even a hint of anger. It doesn't really help me calm down, not in the slightest.

"I'm scared," I whimper, as if he couldn't already tell.

"I-I know," he says comfortingly. "Kate and I will try to protect you i-if anything bad happens."

They'll try to protect me? I'm pretty sure that was supposed to comfort me, but it just sets me even more on edge. Still, I nod and let him walk past me to catch up with Kate, leaving just Ben and me in the room.

"Ben—" I start but he cuts me off by walking toward me. He looks down into my eyes, and for a moment, he wears the softest expression I've ever seen him put on.

He gently brushes my arm. "You'll be okay," he reassures, then walks out the door and motions for me to follow. I swallow the lump in my throat and do as I'm told.

I quietly make my way down the halls, the backs of Ben, Katie, and Toby becoming mere moving blobs of colour to me as I'm too distracted by fear to care about noticing the details. If this Slenderman is as bad as they're making him out to be, then he will probably be even scarier than any of the monsters I've already seen here. I don't want to meet him.

The top of the stairs comes quicker than I'd like, and now I have to sit and wait behind the wall as my friends walk down to meet Slenderman. My heart is pounding fast, but I try to take deep, quiet breaths to calm myself down. It doesn't work.

There's a clutter of footsteps meeting at the front door, but even after they all stop, there's no voices except for a few whispers. Didn't Slenderman need them for something? Why isn't he talking?

, I hear reverberate in my ears. My heart races in panic, faster than it ever has before. He knows I'm here, and he wants me downstairs as well. Should I go down and meet him? I don't want to. I'm terrified, but there would probably be a worse outcome if I disobeyed.

I decide that I have to.

My legs wobble as I walk around the corner and down the stairs. Standing at the base of the stairs is Ben, probably so he can run up to meet me after Slenderman is done. I don't take my eyes off him as I walk down, relying on his familiar presence to steady me, but when he turns and sees me, he glares at me in panic and motions for me to go back upstairs. I shake my head 'no', and he pales, realising why I am ignoring his plea.

I stand beside Ben and look up at him, failing at hiding my fear as my body trembles and eyes threaten to tear up. I don't want him to see me so weak and afraid, but I have no other option right now. His worried stare softens when he noticed my shaking frame and he takes a breath. He's obviously contemplating something, but I don't bother trying to figure out what it is as I shift my eyes down to the floor, only to bring them back up to look at the person causing all my fear.

My heart stops. He's terrifying.

An insanely tall man with white skin and no face stands by the front door, and a beautiful girl with dark hair and pale skin stands next to him. They stand intimidatingly while the man radiates such a great authority that the fear and respect among the fellow monsters—I mean housemates weighs heavy in the air.

I look around and notice everyone is afraid, even if just slightly (except for Jeff. He looks more annoyed than anything). Knowing I'm not alone in my terror comforts me slightly, but not enough to stop my shaking or calm me down any.

Slenderman says, motioning to the girl next to him. I stare at her, trying to figure her out. She doesn't seem like a monster or a murderer or a demon or whatever the heck Ben is: she seems normal. Why is she here?

I notice all her beautiful features. Her flawless porcelain skin seems to glow under the harsh light of the chandelier on the ceiling, her hair falls over her shoulders with effortless beauty, and she holds herself with such a modest confidence that it makes me wither. I don't compare to her at all. I'm jealous. I wish I was that beautiful.

Suddenly her eyes meet mine, and despite how far away from me she is, I notice how blue her eyes are. They almost seem to glow. It's scary how gorgeous they are and how their stare seems to pierce my very soul, and for some reason, I get the feeling that she's challenging me. What is she challenging me to? Why is she challenging me? Do I oppose a threat to her? Does she know me somehow?

I break from her gaze nervously, looking down at my feet before looking up at her again to see if she's still staring, but I find her looking over the other proxies like nothing happened. Maybe in her eyes, nothing did happen. I watch as her apathetic demeanor softens when she looks at someone in the crowd, but before I can find out who, Slenderman voice booms in my head again.

.

My breath catches in my throat. He knows. He knows I'm here, he knows about the deal between Ben and me, and he knows that I'm staying here. How does he know all of that? What else does he know?

Eyes all around me turn and stare me down. I can't help but cower away from their hungry, judging glances. Luckily, their attention is pulled away from me when Slenderman speaks again.

And just like that, Slenderman leaves my sight, almost like he teleported. Not only does he communicate through telepathy, but he can teleport too?! This can't be real.

This is all probably a dream. I'll wake up on my couch with the TV playing some weird show that only plays at 4 am and ice cream spilled all over my shirt. That's the only explanation for all this craziness around me.

Wait a minute... Slenderman said to meet him in his office. Oh no. He's mad. He's going to kill me. Or he's going to kill Ben. We're in trouble. Anxiety paralyzes me, so when everyone around me scatters and Ben starts to walk away to where I can only assume Slenderman's office is, I stay still. I can't move. I'm terrified.

He turns around and sees me stuck in my fear, and his pity becomes evident on his face. He takes a breath and walks toward me, but I ignore him. Nothing he can do will pacify the thoughts and worries swarming through my head.

He reaches out and gently takes my hand in his, intertwining our fingers, and for a moment, all my apprehension and trembling vanishes. His hand is on mine, and that's all my mind focuses on. I blush and look up at him, and he offers me a small smile.

"Hey, everything'll be okay," he says. "I'm here, and I'll make sure you stay safe," he promises. Butterflies rise in my chest and he begins leading me to the office, rubbing his thumb over mine every once in a while to remind me of his words: I'm here. It surprisingly does comfort me and I feel my nervousness shrink. I haven't seen Ben so kind and mature as he is now, but it's nice. It does wonders to calm me down.

"T-thanks..." I mutter, but he doesn't respond so I assume he didn't hear me.

We make it to the tall oak doors that probably lead to Slenderman's office, and my temporary leaving of anxiety disappears. My heart races and my stomach drops as Ben reaches out his arm and knocks on the door. I swallow, and Ben gives my hand a squeeze of reassurance.

(Word count: 1917)