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A/N- This chapter is dedicated to @paygeywafflestealer because she made me smile 😊

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Unknown POV:

It was sad for a lot of us. We all tried helping, but eventually, one by one, we all gave up hope. Except Jeff. Jeff kept searching and searching and searching. Some nights, he wouldn't sleep and he'd stay up, wandering the forest. I found him passed out from exhaustion several times, but I never yelled at him for it.

At first, none of us noticed it. But eventually, Jeff started skipping meals. He'd go out for longer periods of time and each time he'd come back with more blood on him. He hardly slept, and it was all really taking a toll on him. After three months, we confronted him about it, but he lashed out at us. After that, we left him to cope on his own.

It got to a point where even Jane felt bad for him. She'd try her best just to piss him off, but he'd just look at her sadly and then walk away. We knew we had to do something, but we didn't know what. Eventually, Slender just told us that Jeff would heal on his own.

After a year, Jeff finally gave up. Not completely, but he stopped searching. We all knew that deep down, Jeff still thought he was out there somewhere, but he just didn't have the energy to keep looking anymore. But he still believed that one day, he would come back.

Secretly, I hoped that he would find his way back too. He was Jeff's best friend and even though Jeff didn't act like it anymore, we all know he still misses him. Well, except maybe (Y/N). She's never met him before, and I doubt Jeff has told her about him, but maybe if he finally returns someday, she'll meet him. She seems like the kind of person he would get along with... then again I only met her once.

"Toby, we have a mission, let's go." Masky said to me, snapping me out of my thoughts. I smiled widely and got up, instantly running over to him and poking him in the side until he gave me the details.

(Y/N)s POV:

It was odd. I had the weirdest feeling like I needed to go somewhere, but I didn't know where. I wasn't sure if I was just bored and I wanted to do something, or if there was some force pushing me to leave the house. I hadn't exactly gotten the best sleep these past few days, because I've been worrying about what I'm supposed to do about the crush I seem to have.

"Some fresh air might really help me out." I thought, finally deciding to get up. I slipped on a black hoodie and a pair of (F/C) converse. Then I pulled the hoodie over my face and quietly crept out of my room.

The house was silent, so I assumed everyone was asleep. I walked up the steps slowly, and then snuck out the front door. I took in a deep breath and smiled. "Ahhhh fresh air." I said, sighing happily. I decided to go for a walk.

I learned a while ago that if I imagined my clothes shifting forms too, then when I returned back to my original form, I would still have them on. This came in handy a lot. I shifted into a wolf and ran off into the woods. The wind rushed past me and I relished in the feeling of freedom. I hadn't realized how far I had gone, until I saw the lights of town.

Quietly, I shifted into a black cat and started walking around town. No one was really outside, but being a cat was better in case someone did see me. If they saw a wolf waltzing around town, they might freak out a little. I walked along the streets for a while until I happened to pass by a dark alleyway.

There was a man and what seemed to be a dog at the end of it, and I was planning to keep walking until I heard the man speaking. "We've had you for such a long time now, and you never cooperated in any of our experiments. We decided that your... condition... was just a random genetic problem and we decided to ignore it. But you kept running away, so it's your fault we had to punish you. We liked you, we really did, but when you fucking killed my brother, that was the last straw." I heard the man say.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I wanted to get a closer look, so I crept down the alley and hid behind a trash can. It was dark, but I could see the silhouette of a man and a large dog near each other. "I'd apologize for doing this, but at this point I'm not sorry at all. You deserve all the pain you're about to feel." He said, pulling something out of his pocket.

I gasped as I realized what was going to happen. Quickly, I shifted into a dog and launched myself towards the man, tackling him to the ground. I knocked the gun out of his hand and before he could see me, I morphed back into a human and covered his mouth. "Trash like you needs to be taken out." I said, before pulling a knife from my hoodie and slitting his throat.

I put the knife back in my pocket and looked for the dog the man was about to kill. It was dark, but I could make out it's form, cowering in the corner. I stood up slowly, and cautiously made my way over to the dog. "Shhhh it's okay, he's not gonna hurt you now." I whispered gently, afraid I might scare the dog. I held my hand out to the dog, and it hesitantly crept forward.

It had dark fur, and reminded me of a husky. I couldn't make out any colors or any other features because for I knew it, the dog had tackled me and was licking my face. It sniffed my clothes and then froze. The dog got off of me and began whining.

"What's the matter? Are you hungry?" I asked, before realizing the dog couldn't talk to me. "Well, how about you come home with me tonight. I'm sure my roommates won't mind... I hope." I said, looking at the dog. It wagged it's tail so I took that as a sign to lead the way.

Before I left the alley, I turned back to the dog. "Okay don't tell anyone, but I can kind of shape-shift. It's a long way to my house, so I'm going to become a dog like you so we can run there together." I said, slowly morphing into a husky. The dog didn't seem phased so I began walking.

Once we made it to the woods, and I knew he was following me, I started running. It wasn't until the dog was running right next to me that I noticed something. "Woahhh your fur is red." I said, not really speaking but making dog sounds instead. "Oh that's right, I forgot about that." I thought.

The dog turned to look at me but didn't make any noise back. But when I saw it's face that didn't matter. It had a large grin on its face that wasn't doglike at all. It's fur was black and red and my mouth hung open. I felt like I had seen this dog before, but I couldn't figure out where.

When we got to my house, I changed back into a human and opened the door. The dog, which I now noticed was a he, sniffed the air and started going crazy. He scampered across the house and ran upstairs towards Jeff's room. "Hey wait no!" I yelled, running after him. Unfortunately Jeff's door was open and by the time I made it in, the red dog was all over him.

Jeff had a sleeping mask on so he was very confused. "Jeff I'm so sorry! I found this dog in an alley about to get shot and I brought him home! I didn't realize he was going to attack you!" I said, apologizing before trying to take the dog away from Jeff. He whined, before pulling the mask off of Jeff's eyes.

The room went silent.

"Smile? Is- is that you?" He asked, voice cracking. The dog licked his face and Jeff started crying. "I can't believe it! You're back!" He cried, holding onto the dog as if he let go, the dog would disappear. I cleared my throat.

"You know this dog?" I asked, very confused. Jeff looked up at me suddenly, like he forgot I was here or something. "(Y/N) this- this is Smile. He's been missing for more than a year now and- and i can't believe- where did you find him?" Jeff asked, having trouble forming sentences.

"I told you, there was a guy in an alley about to- well he was about to shoot him, so I stepped in. Then I brought him home. As soon as he came in, he sniffed the air and bolted for your room." I explained.

"I missed you so much." Jeff said, hugging 'Smile' tightly. I smiled at the sweet moment. "I'll never be able to repay you for this, but I owe you a lot." Jeff said to me, eyes tearing up again. "Haha... it's okay. I like him a lot so just bless me with his presence and I'll be good." I said, awkwardly laughing.

Jeff laughed. Smile got off of him and walked over to me, licking my hand before going back to Jeff. I smiled, and then walked out of the room, and downstairs. I gasped when I saw two people in the kitchen.

"Masky? Toby? What are you guys doing here? Is something wrong?" I asked. "W-we were sent-t to che-check on-n you b-by slen-slender." Toby said, with his usual stutter. "Hey, (Y/N)?" Masky asked. "What?" I replied, stepping away from Jeff's door. "Thank you." He said, staring at me. I stared back. "For what?" I asked, not knowing what I did. Masky chuckled.

"Jeff may not have acted like it, but he was really depressed. A while back, Smile got lost on a mission and we couldn't find him. We searched everywhere but after some time, most of us gave up. Jeff was heartbroken and angry. He started killing more to deal with his pain, and he became more aggressive. But after that, he was just sad." Masky explained. Toby nodded his head violently.

I turned my head, and stared at Jeff's door. I would have never guessed he was hurting. I looked back at Masky and Toby and smiled. "I'm glad I could help." I said, yawning.

After that, they left so I could sleep. I walked down into the basement and opened the door to my room.

"Where have you been?" a voice asked.

"BEN? What are you doing in here?" I asked confused. "Well I came to see if you were still awake because I was bored." He explained. "But you weren't here so I freaked out!" He yelled, but then he relaxed. "I heard what happened though, so I guess I forgive you. But I was really worried about you." He said looking down at his feet.

"Awwwwwww BEN." I said, stepping towards him and engulfing him in a hug. BEN hugged back. "Why were you so worried though? You know I can take care of myself." I said, genuinely curious. Then I smiled and gasped.

"It couldn't be! You don't care about me do you?" I asked playfully, poking a finger at him. BEN stayed silent before looking back at me.
"About that, (Y/N), there's something I need to tell you." He said, looking both nervous and serious at the same time.

I plopped myself on the bed before responding. "Sure, what is it?" I asked, waiting patiently. BEN seemed to think things over in his head before he finally sighed. "I really like you." He said. "Oh. Well I really like you too. But like we're kinda best friends so I would hope we like each other." I said, wondering why he said that.

"No. (Y/N), you don't get it. I like like you. Like a lot." He said, staring at me with the most serious face I had ever seen him make. "Oh." Was all I said looking down. I hadn't been expecting this. What was I supposed to say? If I freak out would that scare him away? Wait what if this is a prank? Oh but if it's not he'll be sad I thought it was... All these thoughts passed through my head before BEN broke the silence.

"Uh... (Y/N)? You don't feel the same, do you? Ahahaha uh it's okay. Just pretend I never said anything." He laughed nervously, beginning to walk towards the door. Man. I fucked up.

"BEN! Wait!" I shouted, trying to get off the bed quickly, but falling on the floor instead. "Ouch" I said. BEN laughed and helped me up, then he frowned again and backed away from me. "Uh- what were you saying?" He asked, rubbing his neck, awkwardly.

I didn't respond.

Instead I smashed my lips against his.

He kissed back.

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2262 words

(A/N- I am shookethhhh. Ahhhhh! Ok tbh this was supposed to be a filler but haha oops I made them kiss)