I'm just a little bit insane

'Cause I think I see you everywhere

My friends, they just don't understand

They cannot see my point of view

They say it's gotten outta hand

And I'm obsessed with you

Chapter Forty Three

||KIT||

†

Even though I couldn't see his expression behind his mask, I knew Masky was giving me a 'what the hell is this?' look.

"I'm sorry," I grasped the handlebar of the stroller, my face scrunched up at him, "I just have to watch them for a while until Sara gets back."

I reached around to adjust the stroller's canopy so it would block the sunlight from beaming down unto the twins' chubby little legs.

Masky stuffed his hands into his pockets without a word before turning and heading towards the treeline, taking a slightly worn path that would eventually deposit us closer to the park.

I wheeled the stroller in his direction, keeping up. In the cover of the trees and with the twittering of birds high above us, I felt relaxed.

This was- normal.

Once the trees were becoming thick enough to block a majority of the sunlight, only leaving thin slices of light to stream through the thick cover of leaves, Masky cast a glance behind him.

"I want you to come somewhere with me tonight."

"Where?" I asked.

"You'll know when we get there."

"Just tell me-"

"It's a surprise."

"Oh," I smiled at that.

As we walked I noticed more and more butterflies were beginning to flutter past us and my heart swelled.

It was like a scene from a movie.

If anyone were to see us like this now, would they think we were a family?

My face was getting hot from the thought and I wondered if now would be an appropriate time to ask him to prom.

Surely he would say no.

I was so lost in my thoughts I didn't hear Masky when he spoke the first time but my head snapped up at the sound of my name.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"What are you spacing out over?"

"Nothing-"

"You're a shit liar."

I know.

"I just..." I trailed off, looking at the back of his head as he lead the way. He would never say yes and it was stupid to even entertain the thought but-

I sighed.

"Well Prom's in two weeks and-"

When I was taking a few seconds to finish he turned his head a bit in my direction, "and?"

"-and well I was wondering if you'd take me."

He paused in his tracks and so did I.

Tilting his head to the side he peered at me from behind his mask, "Prom?"

"Yeah I just-"

His brief laughter caught me off guard and I scrunched up my face.

"What's funny exactly?"

"Do I look like someone who would be caught dead on a dance floor?"

A smile spread over my cheeks, "I can see you dancing, all dressed up in a tux too."

A few seconds passed before he responded, "that's stupid," and turned his head, continuing along the path.

Bummer.

We were almost at the park now and as the twins giggled between broken sentences and blowing raspberries, I frowned.

So it was a no then.

"So," I chewed on my lower lip, seeing him cock his head a bit at the sound of my voice and I continued slowly, "since you won't take me I'll have to find another date."

We kept walking with no response from him.

"Did you hear me? I said-"

"I heard you."

I paused for a moment before asking, "So you're okay with it?"

"Sure."

I was not expecting that at all. Part of me wondered if it was some sinister plot of his.

"Um are you sure cause-" my words stopped short as I watched him turn on his heels, heading back over to me.

My heart was flopping around in my chest like a fish on dry land. I still don't understand how he's able to get such drastic reactions from me just by being in close proximity.

He came to stand before me and I was about to speak when he started to unzip my oversized Hoodie, pushing it off my shoulders agressively.

Once he had pulled it off and I was left fidgeting under his gaze, I grabbed onto the stroller where the twins were squealing with laughter as they entertained themselves with the butterflies fluttering around.

The pads of his fingers explored my skin, trailing up my arms and over my neck where most of the marks resided, pressing down as if to remind me they were there.

His thumb then brushed over the bruise on my lower lip where he'd been too rough with his kisses.

He spoke low, "you're my personal calling card. Who'd wanna take you?"

The ball of sadness that had almost completely dissipated earlier was starting to grow again. He was toying with me, trying to embarass me. Of course I was also joking about going with someone else but he already knew that.

His hand was still caressing my face and I leaned into his touch, like a cat starving for attention.

He used both hands to cup my cheeks, lifting my head so I was looking into the eyeholes of his mask, searching for something- anything.

"Would you have my baby?"

This again?

I looked down "I-I'm not ready for something like that."

He seemed like he was about to respond before he dropped his hands from my face and turned to the stroller.

My heart stopped when he bent to pick up one of the twins.

I watched, unbreathing, as he held her up with both hands under her arms for me to see, Maya batting at his mask while she giggled and kicked her small legs.

"Cute," his tone was flat and he turned his masked face to me, "our kid would be cute too don't you think?"

"We're not having a baby," I mumbled, taking a step towards him with my arms out to take Maya. He stepped back instead, tilting his head to the side in a way to show he was questioning me, and he let one hand go, his other hand now holding Maya up by her leg.

She squealed with laughter as he held her upside down, higher than I could reach and my heart started racing at an alarming rate.

"Put her down," I reached for her again but he splayed a palm over my face, keeping me at arms length as he looked from me to Maya.

"What, I'm not good enough to have a kid with?"

I narrowed my eyes, both hands grasping his and pushing it away from my face, "put her down before you hurt her, idiot!"

"I don't think so," he lifted his face to look at Maya, her eyes bright as she squirmed and flailed her arms. I was glad she hadn't started crying yet.

"Put her down," I made to reach for her again but was stopped by his hand grasping my shoulder, keeping me at arms length still.

He looked down at me, "whats wrong? You don't trust me to hold her?"

"Obviously not when you're holding her like that!" My voice rose but I didn't move for fear of him letting her go.

At the sound of my voice Maya started squirming a bit more, fussing about as small whimpering sounds left her.

She was about to start crying.

"Masky, please give her to me," I begged.

He looked at me for a while before he let my shoulder go and righted Maya, holding her to his chest. She immediately stopped fussing, looking around and making grabby hands at the butterflies fluttering around.

"Pitty!"

I realized I was tearing up when my vision got blurry.

"Yeah, they're pretty," I agreed, choking back tears and trying to relax as I stepped closer, placing a supporting hand on her back.

Masky's free hand grabbed my face and he looked down at me for a few seconds, "are you about to cry?"

My eyes looked everywhere but at him as I blinked them dry and he tightened his grip, forcing me to look directly at him.

"That distressed look, it suits you."

I turned my head, brushing his hand away and reaching out to take Maya. She held out her arms for me at the same time and he yielded, placing her in my hold.

"We're almost there okay?" I pressed my nose against her chubby cheek and she grinned, small hands grasping at my face.

"PLAY!"

"Yeah, we're gonna play!" I nuzzled her before placing her back in the stroller and strapping her in across from Sophia who was busy grasping at the periwinkle blanket under her.

Once I made sure they were okay I wheeled the stroller away, this time ahead of Masky.

Soon enough, the path we were on merged with another that led past the pond where geese splashed and honked at each other. I was glad to see when we made it up the slight incline and the playground came into view, that it was empty, save for the last parent that I could see now leaving, leading their child towards the way out.

I unstrapped the twins and set them to their feet, urging them both to hold my hands as they looked around in excitement.

I heard Masky sigh but decided to ignore it as I led them over to the slides, their little legs struggling to keep up.

"Hey," I called to Masky, whose body language was clearly that of someone who really really didn't want to be here right now.

He turned to me reluctantly, hands in his pockets.

"Can you stand by the end of the slide and catch them if anything?"

A few seconds of staring and then he was walking over to the slide, hands leaving his pockets. I could smile if I wasn't still just a little bit sad.

I helped Sophie up first, watching her squeal happily down the slide- right into Masky's awaiting arms.

"Again, again!" she was like a ball of chaotic energy and I grinned as I helped Maya up next.

We spent the better part of an hour playing with them both, and after we had abandoned the slides and the sandbox, I was freely chasing them down- Masky watching from the sidelines.

When they had gotten hungry I fed them the snacks Sara had packed in cute little reusable dishes, and right after that they were ready to play again. Who knew two-year-olds had this much energy? Pretty soon my chest was burning and I managed to grab Maya but Sophia was still on the loose.

"Can you get her?" I questioned, looking over at Masky who was staring intently at me as he stood by the swing set. Sophia was heading in his direction too, he just had to catch her.

Another sigh.

I shook my head at him, Maya on my hip, "quit acting so annoyed when you're the one who keeps talking about us having a baby."

He caught Sophie who crashlanded against his legs and picked her up, turning her to face me with his arms outstretched like he was trying to keep her as far away from him as possible, "Guess I was wrong. Maybe I just like cumming inside you."

My insides clenched at that but I pretended not to hear him, heading over to the stroller and securing Maya before handing her a sippy cup with water after she was settled. Masky brought Sophie over who was yawning and rubbing her eyes.

I strapped her in as well and left her with her water before I turned to find Masky a lot closer than expected.

"Do you think we should head back now or-?"

"Yes."

"Okay," I turned my mouth down at the quickness of his answer, guessing he wasn't exactly enjoying himself.

As we headed back the way we came I was hyper-aware of his eyes on me, wondering what was going through his mind.

Crickets were chirping now, marking the end of the day and the last bits of sunlight disappeared the further along the path we traveled. Maybe we had stayed out longer than I thought. It was quiet, apart from the rustling of leaves under us and I almost got lost in my thoughts again when an arm was around me suddenly, pulling me back against Masky's body.

I could feel his heart thumping against my back and instant fear settled in me.

"It's too quiet."

I didn't know what to say, only held onto the stroller as his hands started to flit over my body and his face was against my neck- breathing me in. My insides warmed at his touch.

"Maybe that's a good thing?" My tone was unsure. It had to be a good thing if he couldn't hear the voices anymore right? If that's even what he meant.

"It's not right," he let me go just as suddenly as he had grabbed me and I watched him walk away, taking through the bushes where there wasn't a path. I sighed and secured my grip on the stroller. It's not like I could go after him with the girls. I suppose classic Masky with his legendary disappearing act had decided this was all too normal for him and made his escape.

I quickly found my way back and met light again, street lamps lining the sidewalk. The driveway was also well lit and when I entered the house and started removing a sleeping Maya, Sara suddenly popped up to help with Sophie.

I allowed her to take over after a while and went up to my room, tired.

I half expected Masky to be waiting there for me but the room was empty.

I flopped onto the bed, my eyes landing on the mask I'd gotten from LJ. It seemed to shimmer in the minimal lighting of my room and I rested my head against the pillows, closing my eyes with a sigh.

Today sure went a lot differently than I expected. Was Masky going to come back? He'd said he wanted to take me somewhere tonight.

Was it possible he actually wanted to spend more quality time with me, doing regular things? There were a lot of things I wanted to talk to him about today but I never managed to. Maybe tonight I could.

After an hour of waiting with no sign of Masky, I took a shower, and once I was out I checked my phone, texting Amy so she'd know I was okay. She was quick to respond and we chatted for a while before deciding to go to bed.

I lay in bed then, peering up at the ceiling where strange shadows danced erratically in one corner as my mind wandered back to him. If I was honest with myself I'd notice that Masky really was getting worse, as I'd feared from the beginning. He was never a ray of sunshine for sure but now he seemed a lot- emptier. More unhinged.

It was strange the way he just took off like that today as well. In any case, I hoped he would eventually be comfortable enough to talk to me about what was really going on with him.

When the shadows had traveled across the ceiling, indicating how much time had passed, I groaned to myself.

I can't sleep.

I can't sleep because I can't stop thinking about him. I was growing an unhealthy obsession with him that was starting to worry me.

I squeezed my eyes shut but my thoughts were still fixated on him, butterflies starting to flutter in my belly a bit.

My fingers trailed over my tender and bruised skin and as I was about to slide a hand southward there came a knock on my window, startling me.

I sat up quickly, seeing Masky entering through my window.

I pushed the covers off my legs and hopped out of bed, my body sizzling in anticipation.

He's here.

Although I'd seen him all day today, it was different now. We were alone now.

He thumped over to the table, grabbing my mask before turning to me.

"Put some clothes on."

With that he was heading back over to the window and then he was gone before I could put two words together.

Alright then.

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