I stared at the carpeted floor next to my bed, clutching the area where the strange symbol was. Katie was pacing back and forth in the room, worry filling her features as she constantly glanced at me.

My phone was on the bed next to me with Hoody's conversation open for both of us to see. He had left me on read with no explanation of anything.

"(Y/n), you really don't know how you got it and aren't just messing around?" Katie asked for the tenth time since she'd seen the mark while I stretched.

I let out a long breath through my nose, keeping calm. "I'm not messing around."

"Is he coming?"

"I don't know."

It was silent for another minute before a knocking noise echoed through our dorm. Katie shot towards the door, flinging it open. Glancing at the door, I saw a bit of yellow, which made me stand up.

The black-haired girl moved out of the way and let the person in. Relief flooded through me at the sight of a heavily breathing Hoody who quickly made his way toward me. His mask was lazily thrown on, which meant he didn't previously have it on.

He glanced back at Katie once he reached me. "Shut the door." She complied, and he turned back to me. "Take off your shirt. I need to see the full mark."

I could feel my cheeks reddening as I froze up. "What?" I choked out as I raised both of my eyebrows. "I'm not gonna take off my shirt!"

"Fucking hell." Hoody swore quietly as he picked me up and laid me on my bed, pushing me onto my back. He grabbed my phone and pulled up my shirt. Turning on the flashlight he aimed it at the mark on my left hip. "Shit."

I grabbed onto his wrist, pulling his attention to my face. "Hoody, what is the mark?" I asked carefully, staring into the mask's red eyes. He glanced back at Katie for a moment, but stayed silent. "Do you want Katie to leave the room for a moment?" He nodded, and I squeezed his wrist to tell him I understood.

The black-haired girl nodded when I turned my eyes to her, and quickly exited the room. I released his wrist and he sat down next to my legs. He turned off the flashlight, setting my phone on the spot next to his legs.

"The mark belongs to a being called the Operator. It is a tall, faceless creature that roams the woods we were in." Hoody began to explain, making me freeze at the mention of the strange creature. "He marks his victims with a circle with an 'X' through it and it marked you. After you left, I had an encounter with Masky, which soon led to an encounter with that fucked up thing."

I reached over and brought his hand into my own. "Has it done something to you?" My breath hitched for a moment before I asked my next question. "Were you...marked?"

Hoody took a few seconds before he hesitantly nodded. "I was. Still am. Everyone in my friend group was. Tim and I are the only true survivors, but the victims of it have formed into a new entity called Skully that wants to take it down."

Sitting up, I felt my shirt fall down fully as I pulled him into a hug. He had gone through some serious trauma in his life. "Is this the thing that changed you into what you are today?" Hoody was frozen against my body before he let out a nod. It was almost as if he didn't know how to react to the physical touch.

How cute.

"Masky and I started taking anti-seizure meds in order to prevent the Operator from getting into our minds." He whispered, slowly wrapping his arms around my waist before tucking his head into the crook of my neck.

"Is that what you took earlier today?"

"No, those were just regular pain meds." I hummed at his soft tone as I began to drag my fingers up and down his covered back.

"Can I tell Katie she can come back in now?" He nodded against me and I grabbed my phone to shoot the girl a quick text. She read it and the sound of the door slowly opening told me she came back in.

Katie smiled as she shut the door behind her, seeing us hugging. She took soft steps toward her bed, phone in hand, as she studied the scene happening before her. "Did you two get everything figured out?" She asked softly, sitting down on the edge of her bed.

"For the most part, yeah." I answered with a smile as Hoody's body relaxed against mine. "Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce you two. Katie, this is Hoody. Hoody, this is my roommate and very good friend Katie."

"I know."

I sighed at Hoody's words and shook my head with a quiet laugh. "Right, of course you do. Forgot you were a stalker for a moment there."

"You forget a lot of things." Katie and Hoody remarked at the same time, which made the one in my arms tense as the other laughed.

"Y'all are bullies."

Katie stuck her tongue out at me as she prepared another retort. "Yeah, well, he's your soulmate and your bully, while I am your roommate and your bully. You need an even split, ya know?"

"Oh hush." I huffed, noticing Hoody had relaxed once more and he was quietly laughing. "You two are so mean to me."

Hoody pushed his nose into my neck playfully before he spoke. "I try."