I smile at the comment.
He really does seem sweet, I can see why Sally like him!
"So what sort of games do you want at your party?" He asks, grabbing a notebook and a pen and motioning for us to sit down on the bean bag chairs in the corner if his room.
"Uh, any that you recommend?"
"Hmm... Hide and seek, but thats pretty childish... truth or dare is a good one! Uh, 7 minutes in heaven, since your over 16, um... spin the bottle is fun!"
He says, looking at you for an answer.
"All three of those sound good! I don't mind hide and seek, Sally can join in with that one too!" I state excitedly, then look back at Sally.
"Don't worry, you can be on my team!"
I mock whisper in her ear, and she giggles and hugs me.
"Ok! So we have hide and seek, spin the bottle, truth or dare and 7 minutes in heaven. Sounds cool!" He says, reading the list. "Would you like any particular food? Drink? Anything?"
I consider for a second.
"Nah, I'm not hungry or anything. Thankyou, though!"
"Very Well! Now, I heard Sally scream something at Offender, why?" He asks, his voice suddenly very serious.
Sally pipes in and says, "Offender tried to force him to take a rose, and I told him to leave my friend alone!" Aww, she looks really proud of herself. I mean over a mind ruffle her hair.
"You did awesome, buddy!"
I whisper.
She beams at me.
"Sally, please may I talk to puppet.jpg alone?" Splendor asks her in a kind voice.
"Yeah, you wanna wait in my room and we can play dolls again in a minute?"
I ask her, praying that she'll wait there.
"Sure!" She yips, and skips back down the hall.
When she's left, he looks back at me.
"Puppet. What happened, why did it happen, and when. This is very important. Tell me everything. I won't tell anyone, everything you say stays between you and me." He is serious. I have to tell.
"Ok. I'm gonna be straight with you here. I'm a transgender boy, and Offender walked In on me crying in my room from dysphoria. He asked what was wrong and when I told him, he said that either I take the rose and he stays quiet, or I refuse and he tells everyone. I didn't take the rose because Sally yelled at him and he left, but he said he'd tell everybody."
I look down, on the brink of tears as I start chewing at my fingernails to distract myself.
"Ok. Stay wary of him... but out of curiosity, why did you tell him?"
He asks, tilting his head to the side slightly.
"He was being sweet, and he kept asking if I was Ok, and I accidentally said something like 'just dysphoric, I guess,' and he just started smirking and threatened to tell everyone if I refused..."
I start, but i start crying again.
He walks over and brings me into a tight hug.
"It'll be fine. I'll speak to him and tell him not to do it again. I promise, it'll all be Ok."
"Thank you... What day is the party a-again?" I stutter.
"Why today, of course!" He cries, getting excited again.
"What about your brother? Will he be a pain?" I ask worriedly, and start biting my fingernails again.
"I'll speak to him before that. Now, go and meet Sally! We wouldn't want to keep her waiting! Go have fun!"
"Thanks again, Splendor. You're really cool." I say, giving him a wave and leaving the room.
"Puppet, wait." He calls as I walk out the door.
"Yeah?" I ask, walking back a bit and leaning on his door frame.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that. The dysphoria, I mean. It must be tough to deal with that every day. And I'm sorry about my brother blackmailing you, but you absolutely must not take the rose. It will end worse than a few mean comments if you do. Be careful of him."
He says, the serious tone creeping back. He sounds very sympathetic, and I appreciate it.
"Thanks, Splendor, and don't worry, I won't." I respond, wave, and walk back down the hall.
"It's Ok. Stay safe." He says, turning around after giving me a quick nod.
I jog back down the corridor and run back into my room and play dolls with Sally for another half an hour or so.
Sally starts packing the dolls away into a wood basket covers them with a pastel blue and pink chequered blanket. Waving goodbye, she runs back down the hall and to her bedroom.
A voice erupts in my head.
'Puppet.jpg, Splendorman wants the party to commence now. I'm sorry, it'll probably be... strange.'
I can only assume that it was Slenderman, and yes I agree, it'll probably be very unique.
'Thanks, it's fine.'
I think, and I hope he heard.
I check all of my drawers, on bedside, on the desk, but no sign of The Box.
'Think! Think! Think!'
I yell at myself in my head, and then I remember.
It was on the cabinet.
Offender was leaning on the cabinet.
And now I can't find it...
FUCK.
Please say that he doesn't know what it is, please say that he doesn't know, please please please...
I run downstairs, avoiding everybody's eyes as Offender sits, smirking, on the sofa. Some of them are whispering, some clearly don't care, most are just watching TV or reading.
Jogging down the corridor, I knock once on the door with the cross and circle on it.
"Come in." Calls Slender, and I push open the door and run to his desk.
I slam my hands down on the desk in front of him, and he jerks back a bit. His body language says he's concerned; worried.
"What is it, puppet?"
He asks, leaning forward again.
"Offender has the box!"
I say quickly, loudly.
"Are you absolutely sure?"
He asks, slightly panicked.
"Yes! It was on my cabinet, and he came into my room, and he leaned against the cabinet! Then it was gone!"
I cry, and tears form at the edges of my eyes.
He leans back in his chair and sighs.
"If I ask him about it, he'll say he hasn't got it. His room is always locked and soundproofed, so I can't go in there. I'm afraid I can't do anything currently. I'm sorry. I'll take action as soon as I can, but for now I'm at a loss."
The tears begin to fall from my eyes and spill past my cheeks, dripping from my chin to my clothes.
I cover my face.
"I overheard Offender telling everybody about you being a trans boy. Is this true?"
He asks gently.
"..."
"Is it true?"
He asks again, and I look up from my hands.
"Yes." I wipe away my tears.
"Why didn't you say so? None of us are transphobic, I make sure of that... Offender was blackmailing you with a foolish plan." He states happily.
"But... th-they were all whispering a-about me..." I start crying again, god I'm being pathetic...
"They were probably whispering about Offender to be honest, puppet! Not many of them like him, except Puppeteer and Herobrine. Even those guys can't handle him for more than an hour or so at a time, though. Don't worry, you're fine."
He says, shuffling through a folder at his desk.
"T-thankyou Slender." I stutter, wiping my face with my sleeve and trying to calm down.
"You're welcome. I'll get the box back as soon as I can. Also, the introduction 'party' is starting in 5 minutes. Should be unique, but fun." He says.
"Okay. Bye!"
Now my face is clear of tears and my eyes are as normal as they can get.
I turn the corridor and lean on the door frame of the living room, glaring at Offender.
"Where is it."
I ask calmly, glitching my neck slightly, but just enough to give a strange cracking sound.
He smirks and says-
"I don't know what you're talking about, doll~"
"Did I fucking stutter?"
I raise my voice slightly.
My neck glitches again, and this time it's pretty bad. It makes a huge cracking sound, and a few people either jump a bit, or look at me with a newfound curiosity.
"No you didn't, hun~ But I still don't know what you mean."
He does. I can see it. A square in the pocket of his trench coat.
I chuckle lightly.
"You're a shitty liar, Offender."
I go back upstairs until it starts.
