Ben swallows and opens the door, letting go of my hand. My hand feels cold without him holding it, but I wipe it off on my shorts like it's nothing as I follow Ben into the office.

Slenderman sits at his desk, reading some document that he has splayed out on his desk. There's a picture on one of the pages and it only takes a few seconds of staring at it for me to recognize that it's a picture of me.

The document is about me.

Slenderman says. I look over at Ben and see him swallow.

"Hi—" he starts, but his voice cracks. He clears his throat and tries again. "Hi, Slenderman."

This feels like I'm being called to the principal's office after stealing from the vending machine.

"To remind me how good of a proxy I am?" Ben jokes. He's a proxy himself? After Slenderman stays silent, Ben tries again. "...to kill us...?" My heart beats faster and even more fear spikes into my heart. Would Slenderman kill us? What did we do wrong? Was I not supposed to come here to the mansion?

Slenderman sighs... telepathically.... somehow.

Ben and I both wait expectantly, too afraid to say anything to interrupt him.

Me? Powerful? And a proxy to Slenderman? That can't be.

"I think you have the wrong person—"

he says, cutting me off. I swallow whatever else I had to say and press my lips together. What does he mean 'like her'?

I glance over and Ben again and see him blush at Slenderman's last comment.

(he seems to glare at Ben when he says this, despite having no eyes), he turns his attention to me,

I hadn't even realised that. Does that mean Slenderman is going to be my master too? Is he going to order me around and send me on missions like he does Ben? Will he turn me into a murderer?!

A deal? Slenderman, the master of this mansion and the seemingly most powerful one here, wants to make a deal with me rather than forcing me into doing as he pleases? I look over at Ben and even he seems to be shocked.

Maybe there's some good in this monster.

"What's the deal?" I ask slowly, warily, and curiously. What kind of deal would a monster make?

he says. I open my eyes wide at his offer. I'll be able to live without having to be a servant to Ben, and I'll be able to be with Snickers again! Above all that, my parents will be back in my life! This is a wonderful deal! I just have one question.

"What would being a proxy for you look like?" I ask, taking another peek at Ben. He looks between me and Slenderman, clearly upset but trying to fake nonchalance. I can tell he's hiding what he's really feeling, hiding the expression he really wants to show. He almost seems... hurt?

My hope sinks at the realization that if I want this to happen, if I want to be reunited with Snickers and my parents, I'll have to become a murderer. I'll have to end innocent lives.

"Haha, welp, (y/n) could never kill an innocent life, right (y/n)?" Ben turns to me with a forced smile. "So there goes that plan. Too bad," Ben says, faking a frown this time.

How dare he underestimate me? He just doesn't want me to stop being his proxy. Does he really want a servant that badly? Why? Is he just lazy? Cruel? I thought he and I were getting along, so why would he not want me to be happy with my family? He wants to keep me from my own family all because of his laziness?

A newfound defiance and anger brews inside of me.

"I accept, Slenderman," I say. Ben whips his head to look at me, betrayal written all over his expression. "I will prove myself to be useful to you."

I nod my head, and he waves to dismiss us both. I turn around and storm through the doors before Ben can open them for me.

I stomp down the hall, although i do so aimlessly because I don't know my way around the mansion quite yet.

"(Y/n)!" Ben calls, chasing after me. I frown, my anger becoming more evident as I pick up the pace to get farther away from him. He calls my name again before he finally catches up to me. "What was that?!"

I ignore him as I continue to strut down the hallways, making a sharp right turn when the hallway splits.

"Hell-O-o?" He asks, his impatience seeping through his voice. I continue to ignore his words and his presence, just looking straight ahead. I try to shove my emotions down, but the harder I shove the more they rise. The hurt, the betrayal, the anger; they're all about to bubble over.

"What happened?" he asks more softly now. "I thought we had a moment there by the stairs—"

"Yeah, I thought we did too," I retort, my anger getting the best of me. Oh no, now it's all going to spill out. "But apparently that moment and all the moments we've had before were all in my head, because you don't care about me, you don't want me to be happy, you just want me to serve your lazy ass!" I exclaim.

"No, that's not—"

"If you wanted me to be happy, you'd want me to reunite with my family. You'd want me to reunite with Snickers. But nooo, you just want me to sit here and hand you your breakfast in bed on a silver platter, don't you?" I exclaim, stopping in place turning to look at him this time. My brows furrow with hurt and rage.

"No," he says with a raised voice, then closes his eyes and sighs, calming himself down. "No, I just—"

"You just what? Don't want me to do anything you don't like, right? Just like earlier today when you got angry at me for not wearing a stupid shirt. Well maybe you shouldn't always get what you want all the time!" I shout.

"You don't know anything about me!" He growls, dramatically throwing his hand into the air.

"I know your favorite color is green, your favorite animals are dogs and chickens, your favorite food is pizza, and that you're a murderer!" I cry. He opens his mouth, whether in shock or to speak, I don't know. But when no words come out, he closes it into a frown. He seems to be at a loss for words.

I begin to walk away again, but he puts his hand on my shoulder to stop me. "(Y/n)—"

"Y'know, you're a real dick," I interrupt, shoving his hand off of me. I continue to walk.

"I could kill you anytime I wanted, including right now," he threatens, his voice low and full of emotion.

"That just proved my point," I answer, not bothering to turn around. I hear his footsteps fade behind me as I continue to walk away, and when they're gone I turn around to make sure he is too. Sure enough, he's nowhere to be seen. I let out a shaky sigh as tears threaten to spill over my lashes.

I can't cry now. I will not cry over Ben.

I sniff and keep wandering around until I find something familiar, then I make my way back to the stairs and to Kate's room. I knock on the door.

She opens it and I see Toby sitting on the bed holding an Xbox controller and another one sitting at his side.

"Hey, (y/n)! What's up?" She asks with a smile. I take a deep breath.

"I need you guys to train me."

(Word count: 1614)