Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Before you start reading I just want to let the people know that had read this story before it was rewritten there may be a few plot changes. This story is the final version so there will be no me rewriting it. Know that I do try to keep the plot consistent and my grammar and punctuation manageable but I am new to writing so it will not be professional quality.  My goals for this story are 100,000 words, a decently long AU story that goes off this story's concept and a sequel to this as well. Constructive feedback is always welcome. 

 Walking into your living room you were greeted with the happy buzz of voices coming from both friends and family alike. Although the atmosphere was happy there was a small portion of your heart that felt sad. Summer had just ended, and it was your first season of being a fully independent adult. Today everyone close to you had gathered to celebrate this but it also meant you would be leaving in a few days for college and it was far enough away that you wouldn’t be able to see these people again until the holidays. In a way, you felt separated from all their lives especially with your friends. While your family would always make time for you your friends had already begun to start their own lives. Some engaged or already married and even some so far as starting their own family or moving into their first apartment. You were unsure if there would be times like high school were you all just hung out having fun in this new stage called adulthood.

        “Hey, why the long face? You got into the college you wanted so you should be happy!” Looking over to Katelyn your closest childhood friend you smiled although it didn’t reach all the way to your eyes.

        “Oh, it’s nothing I’m just nervous is all.” You didn’t want to drag everyone else’s happiness through the mud along with yours and at the same time, you didn’t have the heart to speak out about something you felt like she wouldn’t understand. Yes, she would listen to you and try to sympathize as well, but it went back to the understanding aspect of things.

        “Well come on let’s go have some of that cake that Catherine made.” Following her through the crowd you were stopped on occasion mostly by family members that hadn’t seen you since graduation most of which lived far enough away that you weren’t able to visit on a regular basis and some were just friends congratulating you on being accepted into the college of your dreams.

        Once you reached the table you were shoved into a seat by Katelyn. Looking around you smiled your first true smile since you started packing your bags to move out. Everyone that you had invited had come to give you one last goodbye before you started your new life and that made you happy. Your thoughts were interrupted by the voice of another close friend of yours, Catherine.

        “Well, guys our girl has made it into college with the big boys now. We’re going to miss you but that doesn’t mean we won’t hang out once you come back.” That was Catherine for you always knowing what to say although sometimes it was a little late. She had always been able to read you like an open book but had always kept to herself about your worries and insecurities which you greatly appreciated. These two you would defiantly keep up with even with your busy schedule.

        The party had consisted of food and talking with the people close to you about both their future and yours. After about an hour and a half, things began to settle down and people gave their final goodbye and hugs before leaving you with the diminishing crowd. Some parting words were harder than others, but you kept up your strong façade in order to not worry the others. After two o’clock it was just you, your parents, and Katelyn and Catherine.

        “Hey so Catherine and I were talking about it and we were wondering what you thought of one last sleepover? Just like the old days.” Smiling you almost let the tears fall thinking about how great it was to have friends that knew just what you needed.

        “Of course, that sounds like a great idea.”

        The rest of the day was spent holed up in your barren room talking about your favorite childhood memories. Everything had been packed and stuffed into the back of your car for tomorrow when you finally had to leave so you went around collecting all the spare pillows and blankets piling them in the center of your room followed by you and your two friends.

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        “Remember that one time when you dyed your hair red with Kool-Aid, and it was as stiff as a brick? You looked ridiculous!” The two girls started to laugh at your embarrassing memory even causing a small chuckle out of yourself.

        “Hey that wasn’t as bad as the time you slipped in front of everybody that was waiting for the bus,” you retorted. A small sigh was heard followed by a small giggle.

        “I guess you’re right (Y/n). What about that time Katelyn walked into the boy’s bathroom by accident? There was even a boy using the urinal,” Catherine spoke up.

        “Hey what did I do to deserve the two of you bringing that up?” Her face was flushed bright red by the onset of the memory.

        “Well me and Catherine each had an embarrassing memory brought up, so it was only fair.” It wasn’t until early that morning that you finally fell asleep to the sound of your two best friends breathing.

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        You’re not sure if it was the sun or the sound of your alarm clock that had woken you up first. Hearing the tired yawns and shuffling of blanket you knew you had to get up, but you didn’t want to. You wanted to stay here with your friends for forever but that just wasn’t possible. You had plans for your future and a dream job in mind and college was necessary to obtain it. Wait college? Oh, crap you were running late! Jumping up you left your two drowsy friends behind in order to find clothes and jump into the shower. After that task was done you threw some eggs into a skillet maybe even a little too much for everyone present in your house. After about the time that you had checked that you had everything packed Catherine and Katelyn made their ways down the stairs still sporting their bed heads. “Good morning you two breakfast is on the stove.” Finishing up you looked towards the two girls that were not far behind you with finishing breakfast. Waiting until they were done you busied yourself with finding the car keys that you had misplaced.

        After about ten minutes of a wild goose chase, Catherine snickered holding up the same keys you had been looking for. “Looking for these.”

        Noticing this you playfully hit her should. “I thought I had sat them down on the counter.” After the playful air died down seriousness replaced it. “So, guys I have to leave. Want to walk out with me?”

        “Of course,” they responded in unison. Leaving the room one last time to hug your parents once again and say one more goodbye you passed through the kitchen again to get your best friends to follow beside you. Reaching your car all three of you paused looking sadly between each other. Catherine was the first one to break the silence seeing as Katelyn was already in the process of crying and you were close yourself.

        “We’ll miss you (y/n). Don’t forget to call us or I’ll personally escort myself down there and kick your ass.” Laughing at her snarky remark you pulled both the girls into a hug gently rubbing Katlyn’s back trying to calm her down.

        “I’ll miss both of you too. I promise I’ll call and visit as much as possible. Just promise you won’t forget about me.”

        “We could never forget a dweeb like you,” Katelyn sniffed out almost inaudible considering her face was buried in your shoulder. Pulling away you pressed the button unlocking your car and getting in. Looking sadly out the window you mouthed your final goodbyes as you started the car and headed off into the direction of your new future. You didn’t dare look back for fear of turning around and staying, only focusing on holding in the tears until you were sure they weren’t able to see before you let them fall.

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        The sun had already begun to set, and you were still a few hours away from your destination. You had wanted to head out early that morning so you could arrive around dinner time but sleeping in with Catherine and Katelyn had put you behind schedule badly though you still didn’t regret your choices. Flicking on your blinker you could see the illumination of the light reflecting off a few signs in front of you. Hearing a loud crack, you looked towards the direction you were heading to see another flash of lightning before another loud bang followed soon after. Well, that’s just great. Not only had you dealt with minor night blindness and headlights that were too bright to be street legal but know you had to drive in the rain which would only slow your progress more than it already was.

        Turning back to the front a mild wave of embarrassment flooded your system seeing as the light was green and you weren’t sure for how long. That feeling disappeared quickly seeing as no one was near your vicinity. Stepping on the gas you dreaded arriving at your destination. By that time, it would be late, and you hoped your roommate would be the forgiving type especially if they were a light sleeper and you woke them up upon entering. You also had to put off moving your stuff into your new dorm especially if it was still raining like this. That also puts you behind because fall classes started tomorrow as well as your new job at the college café. You would be tired tomorrow. You just hoped that your teachers would be lenient with any homework assigned.

        After another two hours of driving thirty of it in which you had been looking for your dorm building, you had finally arrived at your new home. Getting out and moving to the back of the car and opening the door you searched for a pair of clean clothes and your toiletries all that your tired being felt like carrying in.  Running to the overhang at the entrance trying to stay as dry as possible after being out in the rain you stopped just long enough to hear your car locking before walking in. At the counter, there was a middle-aged woman who looked like she was about to fall asleep right in front of you. Approaching the front desk, you politely told her your name and asked for your key. She checked a few papers before reaching behind her for your key and a slip of paper with your floor and room number without saying a word. Seeing as it was on the top floor you went in search of the elevators before you were stopped by the women’s voice.

        “The stairs are to your right.”

        “What about the elevators?” Your question was followed by a loud laugh.

        “Oh, honey this building is as old as my great-great-grandmother. It’s one of the few the school couldn’t rebuild due to not having enough money. That’s why they put the people with housing scholarships here. You can’t really complain when it’s free.”

        “So, there are no elevators?”

        “You catch on quick sweetie.”

        Sighing you turned around and headed towards the stairs cursing your luck for the day. After four flights of stairs later you felt a wave of homesickness. If this is what being an adult is like, then you wanted to go home. Throwing those thoughts to the back of your mind you went off down the hall in search of your room number. Reaching the last door at the end of the hall you stopped for a moment praying that you didn’t make your roommate mad. Putting the key in you slowly turned it and stepped in making sure the door closed quietly behind you. Turning around you could see the kitchen and living room from your position at the door. There on the couch sat a girl with dyed purple hair and warm exotic skin. Hearing your quiet entrance, she looked away from the television towards your form standing awkwardly in the doorway.

        “Oh, there you are I was wondering where you were. My name is Kayla.” Standing up from the couch she made her way over to you quickly shaking your hand before grabbing your shoulders and pulling you further into the house. Glancing up at the T.V. as she gave you a tour of the small apartment you saw an old horror movie currently paused at a very graphic but obviously fake murder scene. Catching where your attention had strayed Kayla laughed brightly giving you a closed-eyed smile.

        “Oh, I hope you’re not squeamish. I love watching old horror movies in my free time.” Looking back over into her dark brown eyes you gave a small smile.

        “I can’t really say I enjoy them but I’m definitely not going to get sick or anything.”

        “Sounds like we’ll get along great. My old roommate absolutely had a fit every time she saw me watching them. Luckily she graduated last year so I wouldn’t have to deal with her during my last year.”

        “So, you’re a senior?”

        “I sure am.” Following in behind her you smiled at her back. You had lucked out with your roommate. She seemed nice and had even stayed up to greet you as soon as you walked in the door. Showing you where the bathroom and two bedrooms where you placed down the few items you had grabbed down in their places throughout the house.

        “The laundry room in located down the hall to the left. Just a fair warning that you may want to do your laundry either early in the morning or late night since it seems to be occupied during the day. You can also try one of the other rooms on the other floors but carrying them up and down the stair can make the job difficult.” Nodding your head very grateful for the advice you tour had finally been wrapped up.

        “Thanks for showing me around. I’m going to get ready to settle down for the night. Goodnight Kayla, it was nice meeting you.”

        “Goodnight……. Oh, I am so sorry. I guess I got lost in my excitement and forgot to get your name.” Hearing your first nervous laugh for the seeming confident girl you laughed stopping it in its tracks not wanting to seem rude and leave a bad impression with the sweet girl. Luckily through her embarrassment, she didn’t seem to notice.

        “It’s (y/n).”

        “Well, goodnight (y/n) I’ll see you tomorrow.” Moving to the bathroom you proceeded to brush your teeth opting out of taking a shower until tomorrow not wanting to lose out on the little sleep you were going to get. After then you headed to your bedroom glad that you didn't have to share your personal space so you would be able to strew around you numerous belonging without worrying about another person. Moving to the twin-sized bed you sat down plugging your charger into the wall and then into your phone before pulling up your schedule. Setting an alarm, a little earlier than you usually would just in case you had any trouble finding your classes you would have adequate time to ask around for directions. Sitting it down you climbed underneath the sheets reaching over to turn off the desk lamp leaving only the light from the moon to shine into your room. Not long after you fell into a deep sleep that would still leave you tired in the morning.

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        A blanket of soft darkness covered you allowing you to get the rest you needed. You didn’t think you would ever want to get up until that peacefulness was interrupted by the calling of your alarm clock. Moving your hand out from under the covers you reached out in search of your phone in order to turn the damn thing off, but you were unable to process your new surroundings in your sleepy stupor. With no luck finding the offending device you finally sat up and cracked your still tired eyes open looking around a room you didn’t recognize until it all started to come back to you. You had left home for college, and you were currently in your dorm room.

        Getting tired of hearing the constant noise you looked over toward your table and grabbed your phone, turning off the phone and acting like the situation was a little too personal for your liking. Seeing as you had an hour and thirty minutes before you had to be sitting in your first class of the week you grabbed your clothes off the dresser before heading to the bathroom. Seeing that it was clear with either Kayla being in her room or in class you pushed your way in through the doorway before taking a shower, changing and brushing your teeth and hair.

        Moving into the kitchen you searched for something to eat opting on some toast and jam in order to fill your hungry stomach. Sitting down at the couch you hoped she wouldn’t be a stickler on only eating in the kitchen. Turning on the T.V. you flipped through channels noting how many old horror movie channels existed. Finding nothing to watch you decided that now was the perfect time to walk around campus to find all the buildings you would eventually have class in through the week. Turning off the screen and stopping by your room to grab your bag you walked out the door locking it behind you just to be safe.

        Four flights of stairs later you were finally in the lobby of your building. Walking out you took in the expanse of the campus something that you hadn’t bothered to notice the night of your arrival. Glancing at the time on the big clock tower you began your journey always making sure you knew the general direction of your dorm.

        Stopping at a blown-up map of your campus in the middle of the sidewalk you found the building your first class was in. Once you were certain of the right direction of the class you headed that way already having your fill of exploring. Sitting down you felt very accomplished. You had figured out where all the buildings you needed to know were at as well as sat down in your seat with ten minutes to spare.

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        Making your way tiredly to your building you sighed not wanting to climb up the stairs to your room. You couldn’t wait until you could climb into bed and get some sleep. It's not like you had homework today. You were in high spirits until you saw your car. It wasn’t your car that caused your disappointment but all the belongings that you were going to have to carry up to your room. “Well fuck.”

        Hearing your name being called you turned around spotting Kayla in the process of saying goodbye to a few of what you assumed to be her friends. “Need some help?”

        “Oh, you really don’t have...”

        “Oh, nonsense I know those stairs can be a bitch. Let me help you.” Not knowing how to respond to her forwardness you gave in.

        “Thank you I didn’t know how I was going to do this by myself.” Opening the car door, you handed her a few things before grabbing some yourself before closing the door with your foot and following in behind her. After the first trip, you took a small break before heading down for the second round. Luckily you and Kayla were able to grab everything you owed with the second trip not needing to make a third. Once everything was stuffed into your room you plopped down only slightly paying attention to the black and white movie on the screen.

        “So, would you want to go to a café with me? It’s popular with the college students around here and they stay open twenty-four seven so it’s perfect for late-night study sessions. The food isn’t half bad either and they have all the coffee you could ever want.”

        Glancing back to the room wishing that you could go plop down on your bed and go to sleep you instead looked back and shook your head yes.  “Great we’ll take my car.” Following in behind Kayla to her car you then opened the passenger side door and got in. The café wasn’t far from your dorm building and you dared to even say it was located on campus. Along the way you a Kayla talked about her favorite foods and how she was great friends with the staff. Pulling into the parking lot you didn’t think much of it until you were at the door and glance up at the sign with the name of the business on it. You couldn’t help but let out a surprised laugh.

        “What’s up?” Kayla glanced at you curiously as to why you seemed shocked by her choice of restaurant.

        “Actually, this is where I’ll work starting tomorrow.” She gave a lighthearted laugh following your statement.

        “Guess I’ll see you around more than I thought. I’m here all the time when I’m not in class. You’ll love it here.” Leading the way into the building you picked a booth towards the back away from the few other customers scattered around the store. Not long after you sat down with Kayla a blonde, blue-eyed waitress with prominent dimples approached your table and politely asked for your order. Not having time to look at the menu you decided on the same thing Kayla had ordered. Once she had left you turned back to the other side of the table not knowing how to start the conversation.

        “That was Sarah, she’s the head manager and she’s more work than talk. She leaves socializing for after work, but she is really nice.” Not long after that, she pointed out other workers telling you basic details about them and giving you a heads up on how they did things around here before your food and drinks were brought to you by Sarah.

        “Enjoy your meal.”

        “Thank you.” Looking back to Kayla you motioned for her to continue.

        “I believe that’s everybody. Tell me a little bit about yourself. To say I’m curious is an understatement.”

        “Well I have always wanted to attend here, and I got accepted with scholarships that almost cover all my tuition. I plan on getting my masters here and maybe moving on to my Doctorate later on down the road.”

        “Sounds interesting I’m in the art program. I eventually want to be a make-up artist, especially in horror films. Here look at some projects I’ve already done.” Pulling out her phone from her back pocket before unlocking the screen and going into her gallery. After she was satisfied with where she was at in her gallery, she handed you the phone the one you proceeded to almost drop once you saw one of the pictures she had pulled up. One the screen was a picture of someone else’s hand that looked like it had the skin peeled off to the muscle and even in some places down to the bone.

        “You did this?”

        “It’s cool, right? Took me five hours to complete that one. Kind of sucks to see it get washed off at the end of the day but at least I have the pictures of it.”

        “Kayla, this is amazing. It looks so real, maybe a little to close for comfort but that’s what makes it so cool.” Smiling at your comment she watched your face as you scrolled through all the pictures of her art.

        Finishing up your meals you stayed a little longer to enjoy your cup of tea, not wanting to stay up late due to drinking their coffee which Kayla decided to get. Relaxing into your seat you just sat there slowly taking everything in letting the café’s calming atmosphere take over you. Jazz played throughout the store accompanied by the soft buzz of people talking in the background. The smell of coffee was heavy in the air but not in a suffocating way. It felt like a heavy blanket on a snowy night huddle beside a fireplace. The tranquility of everything was soon ruined by the yawn that escaped your lips.

        “Ready to go?” Looking over to Kayla you nodded in agreement before gently setting you teacup down. Leaving the money for the bill and extra for the waitress’s great service you stood up alongside Kayla and walked out the door. A hot wind hit you as you walked through the doorway, a contrasting difference to the store’s warmth. Glancing at the watch on your wrist you saw it was 10:20p.m.. Time sure did pass by quickly.  Remembering how tired you were you caused you to walk eagerly to the car that had brought you here.

        Once in the car, you spoke up although not before a yawn could escape your lips first. You really needed to get more sleep from now on. “Thanks for taking me tonight. I’m really glad we got to hang out.”

        “I knew yesterday that you were way cooler than my old roommate so I couldn’t let the opportunity to get to know you better pass. Especially since it gets so busy as the semester goes on.” Those were the last words you heard before you dozed off only to awaken with Kayla gently shaking your shoulder. “Time to head up for the night.”

        Once reaching the dorm room you headed straight for your room and bed decided to skip out on your nightly routine just this once in exchange for a little more sleep. Plopping down on your bed not bothering to cover up you had just enough energy to turn over and plug up your phone before you were out like a light, even if Kayla had to be the one to turn yours off.

Chapter Text

Throughout the semester you and Kayla had grown closer into what you both would consider best friends. The ones from your hometown that you had grown up with had slowly faded back into the gray areas of your mind. At first, it had started with frequent calls and status updates but sometimes life gets crazy and you must focus on what’s right in front of you. That’s just how being an adult works and that’s exactly what happened to the three of you. You saw this through social media almost every day, how things changed for them. Some small outdated parts of you felt sad over this but the new developing portion felt relieved. You were finally working towards the future you had dreamed of.

            Picking up your keys from the front room table you placed them in your purse. Even though you were leaving with Kayla in her car it was always nice to have your house key on you just in case you decided to take a cab home. Meeting her in the living room you plopped down lazily skimming through the TV channels. After about ten minutes you turned towards the other girl turning off the television. “Are you almost done, Kayla? You’ve been getting dressed for the last hour and a half.”

        Turning towards you she gave you a sour looked before turning back to her compact mirror finishing the last touches on her make-up. To say she looked beautiful was an understatement. She had far surpassed your look for the night, but she intended to gain the attention of other men at the party and you were not. While she was dressed in a short black dress you had decided on a modest blouse, dress pants, and flats. You were almost sure you wouldn’t stick out not only for your outfit choice but your light makeup job and hair that you let for the most part do its own thing only having enough care to tidy it up.

        Heading to the door you opened in allowing Kayla to head outside before closing it and locking it behind the both of you. After setting in the car you and your best friend headed towards the party. It wasn’t a long drive and it had been full of you and her singing terribly out of tune to one of your favorite songs.

        Pulling into the parking lot Kayla parked the car right outside of one of the bars located in town. It was small compared to others, but it was a hot spot for college students needing to blow off steam. One of her friend’s dad owned the bar and had rented it out so she could throw a party. She had wanted you to come so she would have someone there, but you knew how things would end up. You alone at the bar while Kayla got drunk off her ass. You had stopped trying to drag her home as it turned out to be an impossible task so you would order her a taxi later in the night along with yours a lot earlier and tell a bouncer to keep a close eye on her.

        Entering the building you were hit with the smell of perfume and sweat along with heat from way too many bodies being crammed into it. Holding onto Kayla’s hand you made your way over to the bar to grab a few drinks before dancing. That was if you even made it that far before going home.  It took about five minutes of pushing through the crowd before a couple got up to head to the dance floor. Sitting down with your best friend before quickly pulling out your phone to order the taxi’s for later in the night. You even paid extra to have yours on standby just in case things went south, and you were ready to go home earlier than expected.

        You had only been halfway into your second fruity cocktail with more juice than alcohol when Kayla received a text and turned to you. “Hey, I’m going to meet up with my friend from class and give her a birthday present. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”  As if to confirm her statement she pulled out a neatly wrapped box from her purse showing it to you before putting it back up. “Okay just don’t get into any trouble.” You loved Kayla to death, but she had a bad tendency of drooping you at parties. You figured it was because you didn’t ‘party hard’ like she did. It made you happy that she still brought you along, wanting you to enjoy what she enjoyed but times like these you wished she would just leave you at home.

        After thirty minutes and a soft buzz from drinking, you decided it was time to head out. Messaging your ride telling them to be ready in ten minutes you went to find and bouncer and let them know to look out for Kayla before heading out. If you were lucky you would be able to find her and tell her you were leaving. You highly doubted she would go out of her way to find you tonight anyway.

        After talking with the bouncer, you decided to do a walk around before heading out. It had gotten cold as the night progressed and you still had time to kill due to the taxi getting stuck in traffic. Making your way to the back of the building to where both the employee break room was along with a few private rooms you still hadn’t caught sight of her. Once you were at the entrance to the hallway that led to the rooms you stopped hearing voices.

        “Did she get what we told her to get?” It was a female that spoke first. She sounded as if she was fighting between being quiet and being heard over the crowd.

        “Yeah, she did. Does that mean she’s in?” This time it was a guy that spoke. His voiced sounded a little higher than normal almost as if his voice hadn’t hit that deep tone after puberty yet. Maybe it never would.

        “Then she’s in but let her know we will be testing her loyalty until…….” You didn’t stay long enough to hear the rest. You knew that the whole conversation was sketchy as fuck and you weren’t staying around to figure out who those people were or what they were doing. You were going to look for Kayla down there, but you had decided it best not too now. You doubted she was able to get into any of the private rooms anyways. You weren’t about to have a run-in with drug dealers (or maybe gang members) just so you could say bye.

        When you walked outside into the cool night air you were startled by the honk of your taxi. The ride had been filled with awkward silence in which you tried to fend off by playing on your phone. You arrived back at your dorm not long after and as soon as you walked up the endless flight of stairs you striped out of your dress clothes into something more comfortable.

        Finishing up you laid down in bed trying not to worry too much about your friend. Turning over you reached out to turn off the light leaving your form surround by the light of the moon. What you weren’t aware of were the eyes that had followed you from the club back home.

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            Ever since that party, you had felt like you had been watched. At first, you thought maybe it was someone who had taken a romantic interest in you and was too scared to admit their feeling but that stopped once the feeling continued once you were home. If you were dealing with somebody, then they were a stalker. Kayla had started to act differently as well almost as if she felt guilty about something. You had chalked it up to her neglecting her studies and feeling bad about having to pay for the class she was failing since it was too late to drop out. After about a month in you had decided it best to tell someone about it and the only person you felt wouldn’t call you crazy without any proof was Kayla.

        You had been planning on telling her for a while now the only thing that had been holding you back was how you were going to tell her without sounding overly paranoid and crazy. You had finally had enough once you felt like you were being watched halfway through your walk to work. You were sure that walking to work, which was only a few blacks away fro your dorm, would be safe but now you were starting to regret not taking your car. 

        Walking into the changing room you changed into your work clothes checking yourself in the mirror once you were done to make sure you were presentable.  Moving behind the counter you grabbed a note pad and began seating costumers and taking their orders. You looked at everyone wondering if they were your stalker. You, of course, were unable to tell and had to go about your job acting as if nothing was bothering you. The rest of your shift had gone as usual. You saw many college students and professors enter and leave. Towards the beginning of your shift you even saw some of Kayla's friends although you didn't say much do to you not knowing them that well. That would change if she ever got around to introducing you. You were really ready to get back to the safety of your apartment though.

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            Putting your uniform into your work locker you proceeded to lock it before picking up your phone. Pulling the door open you exited planning on grabbing some coffee for your walk back home. Now you weren’t stupid. You hadn’t wanted to walk home in the dark and if you had known that someone wouldn’t call in for the night shift making you pick up the slack so they wouldn’t be short-handed you would have driven to work today. Sadly, the busses that drove around campus were no longer running this late at night. Kayla was also not an option due to her being at a late-night study group. You would make the best of it and think about how you wanted to talk to Kayla about being stalked and not sound like a total nut job.

        Leaving the doors with a cup of coffee you stopped for a moment making sure no one was around to bother you on the trip back to the dorms. Seeing that the coast was clear you began to speed walk home. It was only about a fifteen-minute walk that usually wasn’t that bad but in the dark, it seemed as if it was a completely different scenario.

        Speeding through the first crosswalk you began to hear a set of footsteps behind you. It sounded as if they were trying to match your steps but were a hair off occasionally. Turning around to confront them you were met with an empty street although it didn’t calm your nerves. There were so many places they could hide, and you weren’t about to go out and find them.

        Turning around you began sprinting home not caring if you woke anyone up with your heavy footsteps or gasping breaths. That’s when you could hear the pounding of footsteps behind you only encouraging you to move your legs faster. When you reached your building you didn’t stop there, not until you were up all three flights of stairs and in your cozy little dorm room.

        Slamming the door shut and locking both locks you finally slid down the door trying to catch your breath not even noticing the lack of coffee you had originally started out with. Hearing your panicked form from the couch Kayla turned away from her movie before standing up in alarm.

        "(Y/n) what happened? Are you all right?” Hearing your best friend’s worried voice, you finally let the tears fall.

        “Oh god, Kayla I swear I’m being stalked. At first, I didn’t think much of it, but it’s just gotten worse. I haven’t been able to get proof, but I swear I’m not crazy.” Hearing your worried rambling she gently walked up to you and helped you up leading you back to the comfy sofa. What you failed to notice was the guilty expression that crossed her face as she did so.

        “Hey, it’ll be alright. We’ll figure it out okay?”

        “What are you even doing home,” you asked after you began to calm down. “I thought you had a study group tonight.

        “I wasn’t feeling too well, so I decided to come home and lay down for a bit.” You gave a small scoff before chuckling halfheartedly. Of course, she didn’t ‘feel good’ and just had to come home to watch her old horror movies. Slapping your arm gently she mumbled something about how it is not what it looked like.

        The next day Kayla talked you out of making a report to the police. She said without proof they would just shrug their shoulders and not worry about looking into it. Instead, you began to drive places and only walk when others were around you. After that night it seemed as if whoever had been stalking you had stopped. You were happy about the fact but continued to have your guard up. What you failed to notice thought was Kayla’s guilty expression had left with your unknown stalker.

Chapter Text

Lifting your keys to unlock the door you made your way inside. You had just ended your shift at the café and now you were ready to crack down on some schoolwork. The end of the semester was approaching, and you really needed to sit down and study. These tests, after all, were comprehensive and a big chunk of your grade for the semester. Luckily you and Kayla had planned to help each other study today.

        Going into your room you grabbed your backpack slinging it over your shoulder before heading to the kitchen table. Pulling out your notebooks you began to sort out the papers by the class before taking out some note cards for the definitions you needed to know. Leaning back, you looked down at all your work. You had everything ready for when Kayla got home.

        Picking up your phone and unlocking it you scrolled through your contacts until you caught sight of the name ‘KayKay. Clinking the green call button, you raised the device to your ear waiting for a bright voice to answer the phone with some snide remark and loud voices in the background. That’s what your ears were met with, but you were disappointed to hear “Sorry I can’t answer the phone right now just leave a message and I might get back with you hahaha.”

        That was odd, usually, she always answered your calls unless she was at a party, flat out drunk or both. Did she really go to a party instead of studying with you? You were going to have a nice long lecture about how rude that was. Well, you would just start without her. You needed to pass these classes after all. You weren't going to fail something you were paying for especially with how costly college had become. You hoped that she was just running late due to being stuck in traffic but some small part of you knew that wasn't the case.

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               You were unable to do anything that night besides worry about Kayla. You had to wait on her mother to get in touch with you considering she would either be showing up at home or they would be the first to contact her about the accident if she was even involved at all.

        Not being able to wait any longer you grabbed your keys and headed out the door. The least you could do is go out and search for her. Lying in bed wasn’t helping her out in any way. Who knows though she may be crashing on someone’s couch for the night? It wouldn’t be an unusual occurrence for her.

        Locking your apartment door behind you sent her a quick text just in case she got home and was wondering where you went.

        Text sent at 10:07 p.m.: Kayla if you see this message please let me or your mom know you’re okay. We are really worried about you so I’m going out to look for you in case something bad did happen.

        Walking down the stairs after making sure the message sent you headed towards your car. You were still slightly nervous about going outside after the stalking incident, but you were more worried about Kayla’s safety. Then the thought hit you. What if your stalker had kidnapped Kayla? You had heard about sexual assaults and even some sex trafficking but you never truly thought out what you would do if it happened to you or someone else you had known.

        Your mom had made you take self-defense classes and you had read pamphlets made by the school over the topic, but you never kept that worry with you. Should you have tried to make Kayla feel like that night was more dangerous than it turned out to be? She had disregarded your worry after all so maybe she hadn’t been on the lookout on her way from a party and that’s when they struck.

        Moving to your car faster you jumped in and started the engine. You needed so type of condolence and the only way you would get that is by finding Kayla. The first place you would look at was what most people called Party Lane. Is was an isolated part of the campus where the frat houses were located. For the most part, the college didn’t regulate the activities of places like this and it resulted in some form of the party almost every night. This, in turn, turned into Kayla’s favorite place to be besides home. If she was going to be anywhere it would be here.

        Pulling into the driveway next to a few other cars you looked around. You were close enough to the rode that you hopefully wouldn’t be blocked in. You didn’t want to stay here longer than you had to. This was Kayla’s thing after all not yours.

        Hearing the soft honk of your car signaling it was locked you started to walk up the small incline to the first frat house. Reaching the building the density of people began to increase. Most tended to ignore your presence and you pushed past them although some did give you heated stares and nasty looks. You probably looked ridicules showing up to a party in your modest nightwear, but you currently didn’t give a fuck. After all your main goal was finding your best friend.

        Making your way inside the huge house you began searching the first floor. Speakers had been set up throughout the room playing music you didn’t much care for. That accompanied by the voices trying to compete with the music you could barely hear yourself think. Searching the living room and seeing no sign of her you moved on to the kitchen. Food had been set up along the tables and counters but was, for the most part, ignored for the alcohol. Red solo cups filled any available empty space and hands. There weren’t as many people in here as the living room turned dance floor, but it was still crowded.

        Trying to hurry on with you search not liking the overwhelming heat of the other bodies and smell of the alcohol you pushed by some of the more intimate individuals. God, you sure hated parties. You didn’t know how Kayla lived for these sorts of things.

        Finishing up your search of the first floor you made your ways upstairs struggling through the bodies that had lined the stairs. The rooms up here were bedrooms most of which being locked and some you had wished had been locked. You really wished couples would have thought about privacy before going at it. Shutting the door to the mentioned room you moved down the hall still not seeing any signs of her. When you found her, you would be giving her a piece of your mind. Giving up your search of her you moved on to the next house. This would take a while and you sure ass hell weren’t looking forward to it.

        You had gotten home early that morning still having no luck with finding Kayla. You had checked every partying frat house that night and had even driven around the neighborhood searching for her. Throwing your keys on the kitchen table you made your way to your room. You had really wanted to keep looking but you knew you could no longer safely dive with how tired you currently were. You had almost hit a stray dog on your way back to the apartment for God’s sake.

        Some part of you had hoped and even wished to see the dark-skinned girl when you did get home. Hearing her scold, you for being out late when it was usually the other way around would have been music to your ears. You were only met with silence entering your apartment and a sick, tired, bitchy part of you was glad that it was so you could get sleep. You quickly shoved those thoughts away. Even if you were tired and miserable didn’t mean you didn’t see how much of a bitch you were being. She could be kidnapped, injured, or even dead. You would much rather have her here and loud than out there. God, you really were worried about her safety.

        Sometimes after you had gone to sleep you were woken up from your fretful sleep by your phone ringing. The caller I.D. showed that it was, in fact, her mom. You hoped she had good news to tell you, but you hesitated to pick up and answer. What if all she had was bad news? Sighing you knew the only way to know for sure was to answer. Picking up the phone you placed it to your ear. Hearing her sobs only worsened your fears. Some part of you had hoped that she was just overreacting, and Kayla had been fine only giving you and her a scare but you knew the chances of that being the case were slim. You allowed her to try and compose herself allowing her all the time she needed. You didn’t want to think about it, but you were probably evading her enviable answer.

        “S-she’s dead!” Loosening your grip on the device causing it to slip from your hands you couldn’t stop the tears from falling to the couch with it. It hit you hard and you had no clue what to do. You just sat on the couch unable to comprehend the reality of those words. You were expecting at any moment she would waltz in and try to win your forgiveness with an apology dinner before finally helping you crack down on your studying.

        You had seen it on the news after getting over the initial shock of her mother’s words. The news station had talked about ten dead and one injured Newton college students found in the woods surrounding the outskirts of campus. They speculated that they were having a somewhat private party out in the woods when they had been attacked by a wild animal. Bears and panthers were common around the more rural parts of town, so it was written off as an unfortunate accident.

        All you could do at that point was a wish for her to be there. You hardly had the heart to show up to your finals but all the studying you had done throughout the semester and your understanding teachers allowed you to pass the courses with good grades. At that point though you hadn’t cared if you passed or not. At least you wouldn’t need to retake the classes now.

        Now that the semester was over you had a few weeks before you would have to go back. Plenty of time to go through the grief of losing your best friend. It was hard but with the support of her family and yours, it was bearable. Your hometown friends had even found enough time to come down to check on you over lunch. It had felt nice although slightly awkward. Even though you three had promised to stay in touch it just hadn’t been possible with your busy lives in play. It had made you feel a little better although it didn’t keep you from missing Kayla.

Chapter Text

Pulling the black dress shoes over your feet you stood up looking into the mirror. Your whole outfit consisted of black fitting for the funeral you were about to attend. You didn’t even bother covering your swollen red eyes with makeup. You were going to cry it all off by the end of the service tonight anyways. Grabbing your car keys off the table along with the sunflowers you had picked a few days ago you headed outside. Laying the slightly limp bundle beside you and turning the key in the ignition you headed towards the funeral.

The funeral had been scheduled two weeks after you found out about her death. Those two weeks had been Hell and you were still going through it. You had called into work instead of opting to stay at home and try to wrap your head around the fact that she wasn’t coming back. A few days from the scheduled time of Kayla’s funeral you had started going out again and returning to work but the funeral had brought all those feeling back. The feelings you had tried to learn how to accept. Maybe the funeral was the closure you needed. You could only hope though because you weren’t going to miss it even if it was questionable to your mental health.

The funeral was held at the small local church. It was one of the few churches scattered around town. You had attended with Kayla and her family a few times even if you weren’t overly religious. You saw everybody that attended the church was here today as well. It mostly consisted of older people although there were some middle-aged people and families with kids on the older side.

Walking into the building after parking your car you saw that it was packed with many people from your school as well. It made you happy that this many people cared to come to this even if it happened to be on a sad occasion. It just showed you how awesome she had really been.

Seeing the benches were filled you opted to stand in the back when Sam, Kayla’s mom, spotted you. She looked eerily like Kayla just older with a lot more laugh lines from over the years. Today she wore a black dress with a pair of small heels. Her hair was thrown into a messy bun. You were sure your appearance looked just as ruffled as hers.

She didn’t say anything to you as she came up to embrace you. You could feel the fresh tears well up into your eyes as she pulled back allowing you to see the same in her eyes. Not saying a word through her sniffles, she grabbed your hands and lead you through the church to sit up with the family for the service.

You had cried through most of it while tightly gripping Sam’s hand. In the end, you had slowly approached the casket seeing her laying there looking peaceful. Fresh tears ran out of your eyes as you gently placed the sunflowers next to her shoulder. You were ready to go home so you could be left in peace.

Going to your car you followed the hearse to the graveyard she would be buried. It was in the middle of town and was where most of her family before her had been buried. The gravestones surrounding the spot she was to be buried looked clean and well taken care of. It was the same for the grass and trees as well.

You had stayed long after everyone including her family had left. You just didn’t know how you were going to be able to say goodbye to her permanently. You didn’t want to go on with your life without her but whether you wanted to or not you had to. Glancing one more time at her new gravestone and the fresh mound of dirt you straightened up from your crouched position. It was starting to get dark and you really didn’t want to be stuck out her once it was.

        Turning around you gave a soft yelp when you ran into somebody. “Sorry I was waiting until you were done. I didn’t mean to startle you. My name is Jenny and you must be (y/n). Kayla talked about you a lot.” That was strange. You weren’t sure who this person was. Maybe one of her party friends? She did want you to go with her often, but you tended to turn her down in favor of doing work for a school or your part-time job that you used to pay for your education.

Giving her a look, you waited for her to get to the point of this conversation. She didn’t seem to upset about your friend’s death, but you chalked that up to her being able to hide it better. You would have held in your break down until you got home if you could have. Waiting for your response the girl received none, so she continued talking.

        “I just wanted to let you know that any friend of Kayla’s is mine as well. Here’s my number, if you ever need me don’t hesitate to call. We can get through this together.” Placing the sheet with her number scribbled on it she then turned and walked away. Seeing her retreating figure, you finally recognized her. She had been one of the girls out her the group of friends Kayla had hung out with. You tended to keep to yourself but you had seen her specifically the day at the club. Shrugging off your feeling of unease you made your way back to your car to leave.

            You had made it home safe and sound with no feeling of being stalked. It had become less frequently ever since Kayla had died but you assumed no one wanted to watch your pity party at home. Locking the door behind you and moving into your room you stripped out of your clothes into some comfy house wear. Glancing once again at the laundry basket you noticed how piled up everything had become. You had been neglecting basic housework every since the night she disappeared. If she saw how you were now she would be quiet disappointed.

            Deciding to get a few things done you grabbed the basket and headed out to the small laundry room on your floor. It was late enough that it should be empty. Opening the door your suspicion was correct. All that lay in what you believed was once a storage closet was a washer and dryer. Not much to share between the other four rooms but it beat having to haul loads of laundry down the stairs. They even possessed a small garbage shoot next to the washer to use. Even if the dorm house wasn’t up to modern standards with lacking an elevator they did try to make it a little easier on the residents.

 Opening the old washer you began tossing a load into it. Checking the pockets as you went you saw something fall out of your dress pants onto the floor. Picking it up once you turned on the washer you saw it was a number. For a split second, you couldn’t remember where it had come from until you saw the name, Jenny. Of course, she had given your number so you could talk with her.

            Knowing that you weren’t too worried about getting in touch with the strange girl you almost threw it away before the thought hit you. She had been friends with Kayla and that meant she would understand your level of pain from losing her. Hell for all you knew she had been friends with her a lot longer than you. Maybe she was a childhood friend?

Starting the washer you then reached into your back pocket to take out your phone you typed in the number and saving it. Pulling up her number you thought for a moment. Would she be asleep this late at night? What should you even say to break the ice? Your thoughts were interrupted by the beeping of the washer. Taking the wet clothes out you put them into the dryer turning it on once you were done.

'Hey is (y/n) from the funeral. I just wanted to message you so you could have my number.' Not the best you could have done but it would have to do.

'Thanks for messaging me! I wasn't sure if we got off on the wrong foot or not hahaha. Let's hang out some time okay?' Turns out that by the end of that day you had not only cleaned up your filthy apartment but also gained another friend.

Chapter Text

Laying on your stomach you sighed. Ever since you and Jenny had become friends they both of you had picked up the tradition of doing something every other weekend alternating who would pick the activity. It was something that helped you get over the depression you had sunk into after Kayla's death. Jenny in a way had fallen into the role Kayla had occupied in your life.

She had always picked something horror-related for her 'girl's night' activity. Sometimes that meant a night inside with the lights off and an old movie on or illegally trespassing on the supposedly haunted property. She reminded you so much of Kayla albeit a lot more extreme with her passion.

Pushing yourself up into a sitting position in your bed you stretched your cramped up muscles. Tonight was the night you were supposed to pick the damn Oujia bored up with her. You really didn't want to do this but she got to pick this weekend's activity. You just couldn't wait for your turn. You were thinking of maybe booking a massage appointment or going out to dinner like normal friends would do together.

Picking up your phone and looking at the time you know you needed to head over and pick her up. She unlike you who lived alone ever since the funeral, lived with about a dozen other girls and guys just outside of campus. They put their money together each month and rented out a relatively big house in which they all stayed.

You never really got along with any of her housemates. They were all a little on the weird side of things. Not that you had anything against people who resided outside of society's normal standards but they always seemed off. 

Every time you were invited inside you were shunned and ignored by everyone but Kayla. The inside interior had a cult vibe to it. Bones and feathers of dead animals were scattered around the house as decorations. They used candles instead of electricity which was a serious fire hazard in general. You had stopped going inside to get Kayla when you had walked in on a few of her friends circled around a chalk pentagram chanting in Latin. After that, you always texted her that you were there to pick her up.

Grabbing your bag you made sure you had your keys before you stepped out and locked the door. Making your way down the hallway you paused at the stairs sending her a text that you were now on your way and for her to be ready when you arrived.

Placing your phone back into your pocket you trusted that she was up and would see in. You really don't know why she wanted to do this so late at night. By the time you would pick her up and meet the guy for the board it'd be close to midnight. 

Making your way past the last step and out the door you weren't out of breath. You had gotten used to the 'stairs of terror' as the people that lived here called them a long time ago. Within the next year, they were supposed to be putting in elevators but you would just have to wait and see.

By the time you had got into your car and was headed in the direction of Jenny's house, it was already dark. Traffic was usually busy for it being this late so you arrived ten minutes late.

Pulling into the driveway you put your car into the park. Pulling your phone from your bag you searched for Jenny's name and pressed call. The line went to voice mail after a few rings. You were then given a notification that you received a text.

Jenny: Finishing up I'll be out in a moment!

Good, you thought. You were not going in there to get her and you really didn't want to become desperate enough to start honking your horn and risking upsetting her neighbors.

After playing on your phone for a few minutes you saw a figure approaching your car out of the corner of your eye. Looking up you saw Jenny approaching with her usual smile. 

Opening your door she made herself comfortable in the passenger seat.

"Sorry about that Katie decided to borrow my only clean pair of Jean's and decided not to tell me about it." You just shook your head in acknowledgment before putting your car into reverse and leaving the property.

"You did tell the guy that we'd be a little late right?"

"Yeah, he said it was no big deal."

"And where exactly are we meeting?"

"Oh crap, that's right!" Fumbling with her few possessions she brought along with her she finally grasped her phone in her hand. Pulling up a navigation app she put the location in before giving you directions to your destination.

"So, are you excited about tonight (y/n)?” Looking over into the passenger seat you glared at the girl.

“You know I don’t believe in them and if you don’t believe in that sort of thing there isn’t much to look forward to.” Giggling she shot you a snide remark.

“I know you're scared (y/n) but I’m not letting you chicken out on me this time.” Rolling your eyes, you looked back toward the empty parking lot.

“This is where we are supposed to meet him right? He’s already ten minutes past the time he said he'd be here."

“Give him time (y/n). He should be here at any moment. We were running behind schedule so he probably has the same problem with all the traffic.”

“Why did you want to meet him so late anyway? There no one here, the perfect place and time to rob someone or even worse.” Crossing your arms, you shot her a disapproving glance.

“Don’t worry so much or you’ll start looking like a grandma. I brought pepper spray.”

“So, you did realize how bad of an idea this was!” Giving a trumpet smile your conversation was interrupted by a vehicle heading towards yours. Looking towards her you gave her your own snide remark.

“Let’s hope he doesn’t have a gun. Your pepper spray isn’t going to do anything if he does.”

“If you're so scared then stay in the car. I’ll pay for the board and then we can leave.” Of course, you couldn’t let her get out by herself. If something happened to her then you would feel responsible. Getting out you felt a cold wind brush past. She just had to do the stupid summoning thing tonight didn’t she? Looking away from her and towards the vehicle, you watched its slow approach.

After what felt like forever it finally stopped in front of you. You would have been happy considering once you were done with this you could get back into your warm car but all the bad scenarios that could happen kept playing through your head. That and the asshole didn’t turn off their lights which were on bright.

The van looked as rough as the owner that stepped out of it. Dents and scratches littered the body and you could tell the places that had paint flaking off was rusted. One of the side windows was also covered by a trash bag that did a horrible job of keeping things outside of the car.

If the vehicle didn’t scream ‘druggie’ the person did. The man was middle-aged clothed in tattered dirty clothes with a cigarette hanging from his lips. ‘So, this is the person that convinced Jenny to buy the damn board. Probably told her some nonsense about how it was haunted and how it actually worked.’ Not even taking to time to flick the ashes of the end of his burning cancer stick and instead of letting them fall on their own accord he looked towards both you and Jenny.

“Are ya’ll the ones buying the board?” His raspy voice hinted at how often he smoked.

“Yes sir,” Jenny replied
…..
After closing the car door and speeding off even before you and Jenny had buckled up you looked towards her.

“Okay I love you and all but that’s never do that again, okay?” Hearing laughter you sighed.

“Oh, come on (y/n) it wasn’t that bad. I can’t wait to set up this bored though.”

Looking over to the board that rested in her lap you took in the sight of it. It had an old wore down look to it and some spots were stained with an unknown substance. You could see why she thought it was creepy in the first place. Now all that was left to do was set up the damn thing and hopefully getting to bed at a reasonable time. God this was going to be a long night.

Chapter Text

You had arrived home sometime after one in the morning. You at that point wanted nothing more than to fall into your bed and sleep the rest of the day. Sadly that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

Jenny had been planning this event for a couple of years now. She had told you that she had wanted to do it for a while but the time nor the ouji bored ever seemed right. Her tedious nature with planning this night (well early morning) had rivaled that of people and their wedding day. You really didn't get it but who were you to judge. That and the fact that she sometimes, especially during times like these, reminded you so much of Kayla that you couldn't possibly say no, no matter how much you may want to.

Once both of you had arrived inside you found the bag of items she had told you to get for the night. Handing it to her you let her get to work setting everything up. Sitting down on the couch that she had pushed against the wall you watched her. 

She had banned you from helping in any way outside of taking her to buy the bored and buying the things she had requested. Yes, you did want to help (if only to make things go faster) but that was out of the question. Once her mind was set it was in stone. That and she said she would start the ritual at three, the height of the witching hour, so you were stuck here in the living on a couch that seemed more like your bed by the minute.

Yawning you watched as she sat candles on the windowsills, tables, and floor. You really weren't looking forward to cleaning up the wax tomorrow. If your quaint little dorm room didn't burn down before then.

Once she was done with the candles she moved on to the chalk. Drawing a pentagram on the hardwood floor you silently hoped that she didn't take the finishing off of the floor. You really did want your deposit back.

As she was finishing up with the last touches it was slowly approaching three. Hopefully, this wouldn't get crazy enough to wake up any of the other dorm residents on this floor. Not that they were quiet in any fashion when they held small parties and did other scandalous acts. At least that was the case until someone called in a complaint to the front desk and Sarah, the lady that runs the desk, had to come up and threaten to have somebody kicked out.

As Jenny motioned you over you hear the rain start to pelt the windows. The slow rumble of thunder was the build-up to the occasional lightning strike. Looks like Jenny would be staying over for the rest of the 'night'.

Sitting down where she had pointed you were lost in your thoughts again, something you did a lot when you were running on fumes. She really wanted to be able to summon something and she was specifically hoping for a demon. You, on the other hand, were hoping for nothing even at the cost of your friend’s disappointment. You really didn’t need to go looking for another apartment or a capable priest to bless it because Jenny caused yours to become haunted. Not that you believe in that kind of thing…. right? Of course not, the whole idea of ghosts and demons was far fetched, to begin with.

She just had to do this at your house, didn’t she? Her excuse was that she didn’t want her place to become haunted and you claiming multiple times that you didn’t believe it that type of thing made her deem your place the perfect spot for all of this. Not believing was really coming to bite you in the ass right now. You were too proud to admit even to yourself that you hadn't wanted to go over and do the summoning at her house with her housemates even if that meant your place was the only option.

After she had checked again that everything was perfect for the fifth time she finally sat down leaving you more towards the center of the pentagram and her skewed more towards the kitchen with the board is the only thing separating the two of you. At this point, you were following Jenny’s example since she had done all the research. Most of your ‘experience’ was from crappy horror movies that you and Jenny (and Kayla before that) had watched together. After a while, your attention began to wander around the room. You took note of what needed to be cleaned after you took her home later on in the morning. You weren’t sure if you had any homework that needed to be done tonight so you needed to investigate that as well.

Jenny didn’t realize how much you had sacrificed for her tonight. You had called in sick, so you were going to have to pick up some more hours sometime next week. She didn’t understand how much you needed the money to just be able to stay in school and keep a roof over your head even with your scholarships. It was hard but you had made it work. All you needed to do was stick it out until you are able to graduate and get a decent job that paid more than minimum wage. You couldn’t let yourself be stuck there forever. It already drained enough life out of you as it was.

Slowly your attention and thoughts made their way back to Jenny. Looking across the board you saw her gaze locked onto the bored that separated the both of you. You could faintly hear her mumbling underneath her breath although that didn’t raise any warning signs. She was probably reciting the words from her favorite cheesy horror movie or at least that’s where she ‘learned’ how to ‘summon’ demons from.

The longer you watched her chanting the louder it became. Feeling uncomfortable about the increasing volume and your neighbors who were most likely sleeping during this hour of the night you went to pull your hands that you didn't remember her grabbing and tell her to quiet down or you would be done for the night. The candles were almost burnt down to the wood floor at this point. Sensing you were moving away from her grip her fingers dug into the top of your hand at the same time her gaze shot up to you.

During this time, she never missed a beat of her chanting. Now that you could understand her words you realized that whatever she was saying wasn’t English. Was it Latin? You weren’t sure but she was starting to scare you. You know she wanted you to take this whole thing seriously, but she was taking it to far.

Looking into her eyes you were not met with the kind gaze of your friend Jenny. Her wide eyes held a glazed look clashing with the bloodshot sclera. What once might have been a toothy grin was now replaced by a sneer reminding you of a dog baring its teeth. You tried to speak up about your discomfort, but the words were stopped by your dry mouth. The almost unnoticeable pounding in your head began to grow worse with the volume of the chanting. Black spots began to appear in your vision and an unknown substance flowed out from your eyes and ears. The last thing you remembered before you lost all your vision was Jenny saying, “I will soon be sent to paradise".

*I need to go back and edit grammar on the last few chapters and I will get on that as soon as possible. Hope y'all are enjoying this story.*

Chapter Text

“**** must take the throne since Chernabog has gone missing and the King and Queen are dead.”

“But what if he comes back? We can’t just say we gave his right to the throne away. We could be killed for going against the prince especially if we allow the crowning to happen so soon after his parents' death and his disappearance. 

“That’s just a chance we’ll have to take there’s no other way. The kingdom will tear itself apart with no leader to guide them.” 

........

It had only been three days since Chernabog's disappearance and two since the assassination of the King and Queen. Even with the shock of their death still not settled in tensions were still rising. Ever since the beginning of creation demons have always had a leader. The way of their world was of those above and those below.

Humans have coexisted with demons since their creation. It is even rumored that humans originated from certain classes of demons, giving up their magic for resilience and their unique appearance for a more uniform one.

A leader needed to be picked and quick or else one would be decided without the help of the nobles. It would destroy what little peace resided in the underworld and lead to a war that could last centuries before things went back to normal. If there was one thing the higher demons cared about more than their position was their lives both of which they were unwilling to give up.

So a little over five days after the hierarchy was turned over the king's brother was placed on the throne. A spot he didn't earn like Chernabog. Something that put everyone that decided on this decision at risk if he were to come back.

Chernabog had been the youngest of twelve. Growing up in the underworld was hard and not many young demons made it to adulthood. That’s why high stationed demons tended to have multiple children to insure an heir from their bloodline. In the case of Chernabog’s siblings, he had killed his way up to the top leaving no one left besides himself. 

..........
Azures had always been loyal to the throne. Bearing the crest of the royal family her life was tightly linked to that of the prince. Her sole purpose was to serve and protect the future king. If he were to die, then there would be no reason for her to remain alive. The crest held the power that when the prince died her life would be taken to replace his. That’s why Azures was sure Chernabog wasn’t dead, she was living proof of it.

Lower status demons have always served higher-ranked ones, but royalty had a special servant. They are only granted one in their life and they are used as their extra life. If they were to die, then their life force would go a resurrect their dead charge. It was a powerful magic that was both risky and rewarding. The only ones who knew how to perform this magic were the ones that were in control of the throne and those destined for it. Azure’s family had been linked to the royal family like this for thousands of years and her time had come as well. She had lost both of her parents years prior to a successful assassination of both the King and Queen. She just hoped she could find the prince before he got them both killed.

**** Sorry about the short chapter and the copious amount of world-building before we get to see Jack (should have one more before we meet him). I've done a little bit of grammar editing on the last three chapters and oh my you could tell I didn't check them before I published them and I still need to nitpick them. Sorry if I offended any of you grammar nazis out there. I also wanted to let you know a few things about my little universe/ version of Eyeless Jack and Creepypasta fandom in general.

- Hell/ The Underworld is not a place in which bad people go after they die. It is unknown what happens to demons, humans, animals, and other entities once they die. Also, the location of this place is not on Earth. It lies in a dimension overlapping 'reality'.  The only way you can travel from one to the other is through summoning rituals, whether that be summoning a demon, a portal, or a damned creature that may take you there or kill you depending.

- There are no angels or heaven. As stated above it is unknown if there is an afterlife. Yes, there are creatures that resemble angles but they are just a race of demon. Humans just assumed that angles were good and have passed that incorrect knowledge down through stories and art.

-Demons are not fundamentally bad just selfish. It's more of a 'lookout for yourself and get further in the world' than 'I'm going to do all this bad stuff and kill people'. It the same for Slenderman and the others that have connections with him. Humans tend to become violent with things that are abnormal or have a resemblance to the 'demons'. This is not to be confused with murderers. They are violent and do kill for the fun of it but are taken under Slenderman's wing due to their resourcefulness and because they are also shunned like the others. 

- Demons are not as negatively affected by the death of others. Since they do look out for themselves more than anyone they do not have that 'save all' kind of attitude most humans (besides murderers) have. The exception to this is if the are bonded.

- Demons do form bonds with one another. These aren't really Familia ties but more like comrades. Female demons tend to let offspring fight until the death usually leaving only one or two alive. Above I talk about 'lower status demons served higher ranked ones.' This doesn't have a lot to do with power or strength and more of what bloodline/ race they were born into. 

Chapter Text

The pain was all you felt. You tried to think back to why your body felt like it did but you couldn't remember much. You and Jenny had been hanging out for the night and had picked up the ouija board she had wanted so badly. You had arrived home but what had happened after that? Did you get drunk and pass out on the couch again? Damn, that sure was a weird dream you had. Kayla really must have put the scare factor into you with her summoning ritual.

Your dreams must have blended over into your perception of reality because you remember that creepy grin on her face and a grip that left crescent moon shaped marks along with the blood. After that your memory was black. You feel as if you remember screaming. That must have been you dreaming as well. You distinctly remember your screams accompanied by something more primal and animalistic. Damn you really needed to watch the amount of booze you consumed with Jenny.

Cracking an eye opened you immediately closed it due to the light. Once your eyes stopped hurting due to the sudden onslaught of bright light you tired again. 

There you lay in the middle of the woods. Black spot still crossed your vision and as you went to brush your hair out of your face you felt what you guessed to be dried blood streaking down your face and neck causing your once manged mane to stick to your body and clump together. Getting up from your fallen position you tired to pinpoint your exact location. Allowing a tree to support your beaten body, you tried to make your way towards what you hoped to be home. Losing your support and balance you fell back to your knees. A loud pop sounded in your ears and you felt more blood began to flow out of your eyes and ears.

Your body felt as if you had been run over by a bus and at the exact same time as if it wasn't your body. As if you had been physically changed somehow. You stayed a little longer before you felt your senses come back and the black spots began to disappear. Taking in your surroundings you heard the sound of a small creek and made that your destination. You really wanted to wash off your face and hair. You struggled your way into a standing position trying to see if your body would be able to walk without support.

You had many questions that only slightly kept your mind off of the pain. How did you get here? What happened before you ended up in the woods? Did that sketchy dude kidnap, drug, and then ditch you? Was the summoning ritual just some kind of drug-induced dream? What the hell were you thinking meeting some dude in an empty parking lot? You knew it had been an awful idea on Jenny's part. Where was she to begin with? You really hoped she was okay and at least doing better than you were currently.

Before you realized it you had made it to the small stream. Approaching the rocky bank your legs decided they were done and you fell again. What you saw in the water reflection made your vision swim again. Your face was indeed bloody but that's not what shocked you. Your right eye was your normal (e/c) though it was bloodshot and swollen your other eye was a dark red color. Instead of the normal red veins that normally occupied your eye they had turned black and more prominent. The pupil was even more slitted than your other eye, similar to a cat but was more rectangle-shaped like a goat or horse pupil.

Your hair and teeth were a different story. What you had thought was dirt and grime that had covered the underside of your hair making it darker than normal was actually a different color altogether. When you had taken in a big breath in shock you had gotten a look into your mouth. The right side seemed normal but the left was altered. It looked as if someone had plucked your top row of teeth out starting at the canine and making their way back before putting them back I to your gums not caring that some of them were crooked and out of line.

You noticed that more blood seemed to be dried on this side of your face. A loud static began to overtake both your vision and hearing. Your body felt as if it had pins and needles all over. The last thing you saw was blood cascading down from your eyes and what you thought was someone else's reflection in the water.

.....

Two figures made their ways through the forest both remaining unseen by the untrained eye. Both were seemingly polar opposites with one sporting a white feminine mask and an old worn orange jacket that was slowly approaching a more tan color and the other with a yellow hoody and black mask with red markings so dark that it blended into the shadows with the rest of him.

Today was like any other day with them checking to make sure the woods the tall man had claimed as his territory was secured. Recently their competitors and enemies had become less active which was unusual. Someone underneath the tall man had a run-in with a hostile entity at least once a week but there haven't been any reports for three months. This fact alone had everyone on edge.

Everyone had been required to guard the major wooded areas, the gateway into his domain. No one was allowed to go on any sort of mission until their motives were discovered. It was wise after all to keep the hand you were dealt close to your chest even if it caused everyone to become a little stir crazy.

As they approached the river bed that they knew was up ahead they stopped. They could sense and presence they had originally thought to be human but the closer they got the more unsure they became.

It felt like one of IT's minions and if they weren't careful it could easily gain the upper hand and kill both of them. Slowly the two males fanned out wanting to get the scope of the whole area before they decided to make a move.

Masky had crossed the stream while Hoody stayed on the other side. Once he saw the flash of a signal through the trees they both stepped out into the open pistols and pipe gripped in their tight grasps.

Hoody was the first to come to the conclusion that the girl lying on the rocky bank was not a threat and put away his weapon. Masky doing the same after doing the same assessment. Slowly they both approached taking in the scene in front of them.

It was a young adult female roughly around the age of twenty. The clothes that adorned her body were ripped in various spots as well as scratches on her skin. Trails of blood covered her face and (color) hair. If it wasn't for the small rise and fall of her chest they would have thought she was dead. The first thought that ran through their head was to just leave her to die.

The tall man hated trespassers and with her being so close to the entrance of his domain there would be no surviving. Masky approached the body before he crouched down and pushed her over wanting to get a look at her face. That's when he froze. Peaking underneath the shredded shirt resting just above the waistline was a mark. Everyone who worked for the tall man knew meant that there was a powerful demon pulling the strings.

This mark didn't resemble IT's nor was it anything the two men had seen. Masky looked up to Hoody where they stared at each other through their masks.

"I believe he would like to see this," Hoody was the first to break the silence. 

"Help me tie her up and lift her on my back." Both men did as they had agreed on before making their way back to the tall man.