A Slender Chance

Chapter Thirteen

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The forest was full of life today. The sun shone through the foliage causing the emerald tones in the light to cascade like a water fall on the landscape.

As I walked I thought some more. Slendy already knew I had a problem with him killing, and it would be foolish of me to tell him that visions of the blood bath that was Brian's gang still haunted me. In his opinion, there was nothing wrong with what he'd done. He had been protecting me.

It wasn't that I wasn't ungrateful. I was happy he'd saved me and I was happy the boys had been punished, but did the punishment have to be so... harsh?

Sure, I'd come into the forest with original intent of discussing what was bothering me, but honestly I knew that wasn't going to happen. I really wasn't in the mood to deal with an angry Slender, and yes, telling him all this would definitely make him angry.

I sighed. Slendy was definitely... difficult to deal with. His mind worked differently from mine and I didn't understand him most of the time. Things that amused him might horrify me, and things that horrified me seemed justified to him. He was si confusing! To keep myself from going nuts, I constantly had to keep reminding myself, 'He's not human Sky.'

The fact that I hadn't seen Slendy since Monday probably wasn't helping my mood. I didn't know why he hadn't visited me, but I tried not the let it bother me. I'm sure he has his reasons. 'He's not human Sky.'

The deeper into the forest I went, the darker it seemed to get. The birds even quit singing.

"Happy Birthday little one," that very familiar voice greeted me.

I turned, a smile crossing my face in spite of myself. "Thanks."

Approaching me, he held out a small box he'd been hiding behind his back. "For you," he said simply. I took it with another mumbled thank you and opened it. Inside was a silver locket on a chain. Upon opening the locket, I found the operator symbol etched inside it on the right side.

I looked up, I could almost feel the sparkle in my eyes. "It's beautiful," I whispered. He just shrugged, not saying anything. I started to pick up on his mood. "Are you okay?" I asked, stepping towards him.

It surprised me when he took a step back. "I'm fine."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really? 'Cause you're not acting like it," I said dubiously. I deliberately took another step forward. I looked straight up into his eyes - or the place where his eyes would be. I had to almost tilt my head all the way back to do this. He stood over seven foot today.

I reached out for him, and he recoiled from my touch. That hurt. I bit my lip and ducked my head. "Did I do something wrong?" I asked quietly.

No reply.

I looked back up and he just looked down at me. I continued to wait for a reply that I knew wouldn't come. Suddenly I was mad.

"Fine," I snapped, shoving the locket in my pocket and turning away. I walked away from him, making my way back through the forest towards my house.

A sigh came from behind me. "Sky," he groaned. I could literally hear the eye roll in his tone. I didn't look back, but instead kept walking. "Sky, come back," he sighed.

"No," I growled.

And then he was there, right in front of me. I skidded to a halt to avoid walking straight into him. I refused to look up at him until he grabbed my chin and forced my head up.

"Why are you mad?" he asked, tilting his head.

That did it. Oh so he was allowed to be mad, but I wasn't? I exploded. "Because you're being all passive aggressive and it's pissing me off!" I exclaimed, jerking away from him. "I've been stressed all week, I haven't even seen you for days - I just feel you watching me 24/7! It's unnerving, you know? After what happened Saturday I've been totally on edge. I know that killing is nothing to you, but it bothers me, okay? Yeah, so those boys were doing bad things, but did you have to kill them? All of them?" Oh well, so much for not mentioning that. He was already angry anyway, so it probably didn't make that big of a difference. I continued my rant, "I feel awful! I feel responsible! You know, those boys had families and hopes and dreams and lives. And that was just... taken away from them. What about their parents? Their siblings and girlfriends? Someone loved those boys! Someone loved them..." I hadn't realized I was crying until the sobs chocked out my voice. I angrily wiped away the tears and tried to turn away from him again.

He growled. "Dammit Sky! Would you stop waking away from me?" I did stop, surprised. That was the first time I'd heard him swear. He grabbed me and turned me back towards him, wrapping his arms around me and holding me against him. "I know you don't like killing," he sighed, "but those miscreants deserved their fate. They were going to kill you Sky - I saw it in their thoughts. Either way, there would have been blood shed in that basement. I couldn't let it be yours." Gently he stroked my hair. "Your life is worth more than all of theirs. As for people loving them, do you think people don't love you too?" Lips brushed the top of my head. "And I'm sorry I haven't been around as of late. I... needed some time to get my thoughts together. And after what happened, there's no way I'd be letting you out of my sight. I'm sorry it unnerved you," he apologized.

"It's okay," I sighed, my voice muffled from my face being buried in his stomach. He was so tall. My anger had died as quickly as it was born. I just stood there and let him hold me like that for I don't know how long. I looked up at him and my hands clutched the front of his jacket. Slendy hadn't kissed me since the basement. Looking up at him, I could feel the pleading in my eyes, 'Kiss me now.'

He hesitated a moment, holding my gaze with his, but I guess he got the message because he cupped my cheek and bent to press his lips to mine. I closed my eyes and I reveled in the feeling. There was no head wound to hold me back now. I threw my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. He seemed to pause for a moment - perhaps in surprise - but he responded, tangling the hand that had cupped my cheek in my hair and wrapping his other arm around my waist. The height difference made the kiss a little awkward so he picked me up, literally sweeping me off my feet. Instead of just dangling there, I wrapped my legs around his middle and I could feel the rumble in his chest as he chuckled. He broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against mine. "See? Aren't my kisses better that those of that boy you let kiss you at lunch?" he asked.

Oh, so that's why he was mad.

"Jackson?" I asked, "It was just a little peck on the cheek." I kissed Slendy gently. "Don't worry, he's just a friend," I assured him.

"That doesn't mean he has the right to kiss you," he growled softly, claiming my lips with his. "You. Are. Mine."

That sent a shiver of joy down my spine. "Yours," I agreed, sighing into the kiss.

"So no more letting other men kiss you?"

"Only you."

"Good," he said and kissed me again.