Chapter 4 A White Canvas With Scars Somebody Else Left

Helen took out the "red paint" that had gone bad after stocking it for so long. He has yet to find a way to keep it from going bad and that he shouldn't store all of it in buckets of paint. Everytime it happened, Helen would feel embarrassed to ask Mr. Widemouth to get rid of them. Helen knocked on the door and a strange gremlin-cat looking creature opened it. Helen wasn't good at coming up with ways to describe people.

"Ah, Helen, come in, come in!" Mr. Widemouth said, staring up at him and opening the door wide for him to enter. Helen thanked him before walking in and setting the buckets of paint next to the bookshelf. "Thanks for the paint."

"Sorry for troubling you with it."

Mr. Widemouth laughed. "Don't worry about it, kid." He said. "Want some coffee? I have water too."

"No, it's fine! I don't want to intrude or anything."

"Stop being so polite, will ya? Coffee or water?" Mr. Widemouth asked. Helen sighed in defeat.

"Water, please.���

"Gotcha!" Helen sat down on the old style couch, smelling the weirdly familiar scent of incense. "Here ya go kid." Mr. Widemouth said, setting down a glass of water on the coffee table. Helen nodded and took a sip. There was an awkward silence before Mr. Widemouth spoke again. "Still can't paint?"

Helen sighed. "No."

"Why don't you ask Slender for a break?"

Helen shook his head. "No, I can't."

"Why not?" Mr. Widemouth asked. Helen stayed quiet, clutching on the glass of water. Mr. Widemouth stared at him quietly before glancing away. "I won't insist then, but take it easy on you." Mr. Widemouth jumped off the couch and patted Helen's knee with a smile. "You're safe here, remember that."

Helen gave Mr. Widemouth a small tired smile. "Thanks."

"No problem! You can stay here the time you need to be." Mr. Widemouth said. Helen nodded and finished his glass before saying goodbye and coming back to his shared apartment. Jeff was waiting there, bored out of his mind on the couch, staring at the ceiling. Helen could see that his friend was bothered by something.

"Everything okay?" Helen asked as he plopped down on the one seat couch. Jeff glanced at him before sitting up and resting his arm on top of the couch. Both killers stared at each other before Jeff sighed and smirked.

"Yeah, just bored." Jeff lied and Helen knew this already. And since he didn't want to burden Jeff, he would just pretend to go with the flow and just like Sally said, wait for him to open up. If he even does.

"Want to grab some food then?" Helen said, motioning the door with his head. Jeff snickered.

"Hell yeah."

Somehow, as Helen closed the door to their apartment, he had a bad feeling. Of what exactly, he wasn't sure. Helen used to be very alert on this type of thing, never giving the enemy a chance to attack and always ready for everything. So what happened to him? Well, as a certain blonde with black eyes nagged at him from the back of his mind, he distracted himself by talking about anything with Jeff.

There are some memories you rather not invoke. Ever. Sure, they can serve as a way to make you strong, but that doesn't mean you have to relive that every second or that you've become numb to the pain it brings sometimes. You see, a scar does not have to be physical. A person could carry a lot of scars inside and we might never know. As edgy and emo as that sounds. Helen wondered, if emotional and psychological wounds could be visible, how many would he have? Would his body be fully covered on them or only certain parts?

What about his friends? His exes? Family, etc. etc.

Helen sighed and asked himself since when was the world so dull. So grey, without a hint of color. Heh. Perhaps he should just paint his canvas grey, but which tone? The darkest one could be an option. But, does a killer like himself even need to see the world with colors? He's always been serious and even cold, isn't that perfect for someone like him?

"You know, I don't believe in Heaven." Helen suddenly spat as he set the half eaten burger down. Jeff stared at him with an eyebrow raised. He was ready to order a McFlurry, but sensing his friend was in a bad mood, he refrained from doing so. For now.

"Bro, I don't even believe in God." Jeff said, trying and failing at comforting his friend.

Helen chuckled. Perhaps he hadn't failed. "True, but if Heaven does exist, then this must be Hell." They stared at each other before bursting out laughing. Man, that was one cringy line. Helen felt a lot lighter and despite not voicing it, he was really glad that Jeff was there. A best friend he wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

"You're cringy as fuck."

"Says the photoshoped Barney."

"Hey!" Jeff pouted as Helen laughed. What was there to worry for? Helen was overthinking things after all. Bad habits die hard, huh?

Have you ever been in a relationship where deep down you know it wasn't healthy, yet continued to stay? Helen stared at the back of that person leaving, Helen tried to run after them and apologize for not being good enough, but he was having a hard time breathing. In fact, the knife stuck right below his lungs prevented him from even standing up.

Blood poured out of his mouth and as his eyesight became blurry, someone he's never seen before and a blur of green rushed inside his apartment. He raised a shaky hand towards them as they got closer. Helen passed out after that.

Helen woke up and checked out the hour on his digital clock right next to his bed. The faint neon red numbers marked the time as 7: 37 p.m.

Fuck. Helen thought as he groggily sat up and rested his head on his hands. How long have I been sleeping? Helen stared at the line of light that his almost closed door made. Jeff had come to check up on him, Helen was sure. He didn't want to worry his friend more than he already is, so he dragged himself out of bed and took a cold shower. Didn't matter if it was winter.

"Look who decided to wake up." Jeff said, glancing up from his UNO cards. Helen was drying his hair as he noticed Ben, Sally and Sadie were sitting in the living room. All of them had a poker face. If Helen didn't see the UNO cards, he would have thought they were playing poker instead.

"Right, who's winning?"

"I've won seven times in a row now." Sally said with a grin as she held a peace sign with her free hand.

"Oh, that reminds me, how did you get past the proxies?" Helen said, sitting on the one seat couch as he glanced at Sally.

Sally chuckled mischievously. "Lucky for me, Benny can smuggle me in without being caught."

Ben felt his cheeks warm up in embarrassment at the old nickname. "Sally! I told you to stop calling me that."

Sally pouted. "But it's cute though! Right, Sadie?"

"Sure." Sadie with a smirk while Ben glared at her. Helen chuckled and watched as they played. However, Helen wasn't paying as much attention as he usual is. His thoughts drifted to a slowly growing ominous feeling on his chest. Like something bad was going to happen. Not to his friends or their allies, but to himself. Something bad was going to happen to Helen and although he looked calm on the outside, he was on edge on the inside.

Johnny was not looking forward to today. He was stuck with his arrogant rival and because of him, they almost got discovered by Tim yesterday. He tried, once again, to convince EJ to change partners. He rather work with Jason or even Jeff, but EJ outright denied him that. He had no choice but to stick with his victim stealer, how great.

When their allies arrived, Johnny glared at Helen. The painter, of course, ignored him.

"You better not screw up like last time."

Helen raised an eyebrow at him. "Screw up? Me?" He laughed dryly. "You're the one who almost gave away our location." Helen glared. Johnny felt his patience run out and before he could snap back at him, Smiley pushed the both of them out.

"Now, now," Smiley said with a sinister grin. "We have jobs to do."

"Y-Yes." Johnny said, tensing up at the imposing atmosphere the demon gave when he was strict. Helen snickered at him, but Johnny took a deep breath and decided to give him the cold shoulder. They walked separately to the other side, though smuggling Johnny was not easy since they had to enter Slender's Jurisdiction if only for a while.

Once they settled on the second neutral area, they noticed Tim was looking as dead as ever. Heavy dark bags under his eyes, a coffee from the local Starbucks. You know you're too tired and fucked when you order from that place. Normally, as Jeff mentioned, Tim would already be ready for work and make himself his own coffee back at the mansion. Yet here he was, drinking coffee from the place he despises the most.

"He's fallen that low, huh?"

"Slender must be overworking them." Helen said, feeling sorry for the proxies. At this point, everyone knows the reason why. Unfortunately, unbeknown to Jeff himself, the killer is making himself more enemies even within the jurisdiction he lives in. Of course, those who know Jeff like Helen and Ben will know that Jeff is also against this. But to the rest? In all honesty, they are secretly wishing for Jeff to be banned or be caught by the police and locked away somewhere far away.

"I expected for this to be different." Johnny sighed as he glanced away with a sigh.

Helen rested his arms on the table. "Well, our job is just watching and it's pretty easy too, so I don't mind." In fact, I like it better this way. He thought. Johnny sighed and stared at the glass of water he ordered. It was getting boring. I bet Kagekao is having fun. Johnny thought as Kagekao's mood seemed to have increased as he can now see Brian again.

It was then that Helen saw a ghost from the past. His eyes widened and his whole body tensed up. Helen gripped his left wrist and tore his eyes away, he must not make eye contact. Avoid. Avoid. Avoid.

"Hey, are you okay? You look pale." Johnny said, raising an eyebrow. Helen was staring wide eyed at the table, his breathing seemed to be getting short and Johnny was a little concerned. Not about his well-being, fuck that shit. But if his odd behaviour keeps up, then their cover will be blown. Helen didn't respond, he kept glancing at everything except for the window. Weren't we supposed to be watching? Johnny thought.

He glanced out the window. Tim had "rested" his eyes on the bench he was sitting in, but a few meters away from Tim was a man with long black hair with heterochromia eyes. He was staring right at them… or rather at his partner.

"Hey, is that guy someone you know?" Johnny asked, but Helen let out a gasp before biting his lip and glaring at the table. Johnny was surprised, he's never seen his rival be so on edge like this. Was he his ex-partner or something? Johnny thought as he stared at Helen with a frown. It wasn't uncommon for people like them to hook up with others, but Johnny was surprised for other reasons. Last he heard, Helen was dating Judge Angel. Is that not true anymore?

Johnny glanced back again, but that guy was nowhere to be found and Tim had woken up, the proxy was back to begrudgingly keep watch of the entrance as if he was a damn dog. "It's been a while." The deep voice almost started Johnny. The guy from before was now standing right next to Helen and Helen was, well he had looked towards the window. Not facing the stranger, Helen was biting into his nails. "Still not talking to me, huh?"

"Excuse me, sorry to interrupt, do you guys know each other?" Johnny asked. The stranger turned towards Johnny, his smile morphing into an uninterested look. What a jerk. Johnny thought.

"You could say that, yeah," The stranger forced a smile. "I'm Nathan, by the way, you are?"

"Johnny, but you might know me as the puppeteer."

"Ah, that puppeteer?"

Johnny smirked. "The one and only."

"Mm." Nathan hummed before turning his attention back to the painter. Seriously, what a fucking jerk! Johnny thought, feeling mad already. "How have you been lately?"

No answer.

"I was thinking about you, you know? I know we ended up on a bad note, but I was seriously worried about you all this time."

Helen clenched his left hand into a fist. His glare intensified.

Nathan sighed, though Johnny thought it sounded fake. "I know I fucked up, but all I want to say is that I miss you." Johnny looked at Nathan skeptical before he noticed that Helen was bleeding from biting his nails so hard. Before he could say anything, Nathan turned around to leave. "Have a nice day, sorry for bothering you."

Once he was gone, Helen slammed his hand and let out a long sigh. Johnny was surprised and awkwardly glanced away. Tim still didn't notice them, good. Helen wiped away the blood from his fingers and refused to look at Johnny. The puppeteer put a hand on his nape and glanced to his right. "I take it he's not your friend."

"Shut the fuck up." Helen said, glaring up at Johnny and his tone defensive. Johnny raised his hands, but didn't say anything else. However, he wondered what had happened. By how intense that reaction had been, Johnny could guess that Nathan had done something bad to him. Betrayal, maybe? That was too much for it to be simply that.

Right?

The first thing Jeff noticed when they were all reunited was Helen's dull look. And sure, Helen has always been a stoic person, but Jeff could see in his friend's eyes that something had happened. The last time he saw Helen like that was after that incident and it worried him, though he wouldn't admit it out loud. Which is why, before they left, Jeff pulled Johnny aside.

"Did something happen today?"

Johnny blinked. "Huh?"

"Don't play dumb with me, something happened, right?" Jeff asked annoyed. Johnny stared at Jeff before glancing back at Helen, who was trying to convert Jason into a weeb with Ben.

"I'm not sure if I should-"

"Was it Nathan?"

Johnny perked up at the name and Jeff clenched his fists as he frowned. Of course, Helen wouldn't look so depressed if the source of his trauma didn't come back again. It has been a few years, but Helen still bears those scars from a relationship that almost killed him. Literally.

"If you don't mind me asking, who is that guy?" Johnny said, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.

Jeff glanced at Johnny. "Our number one enemy."

"I thought Slender was your number one enemy?"

"He is, both of them are my number one enemies." Jeff scoffed. "I won't forgive Nathan for what he did to Helen." He snapped. Johnny blinked and looked at the killer surprised. He's seen his rival pull up the tallest walls when he met Nathan and now he is seeing Jeff's murderous intent towards another fellow killer. Yup, this was something beyond betrayal.

By the time it was time to go, Jeff didn't know how to approach Helen. The painter was doing well, he was or seemed to be getting over it. To see the man who broke him must have caused some sort of relapse. Or re-opened the psychological wound left on Helen. Shit, he should have asked Jack some advice since he was a doctor or Smiley.

Ben and Jeff, although they would always be there to support their friend, they didn't know how to approach Helen without making him remember painful things. The only person who could get Helen to open up was Angel but she's…

Jeff stopped. Ben and Helen noticed, turning around to see why Jeff stopped. "You guys on ahead, I need to visit someone."

"Who?" Ben asked, surprised and worried since Jeff wasn't the type to visit other people outside of his inner circle.

Jeff smiled. "An acquaintance."

Johnny stared at the ceiling with a thoughtful look. Somehow, he couldn't stop thinking about what happened today. About Helen. It should piss him off, really. Helen was his rival, stealing his victims and being an arrogant asshole (even though he himself was arrogant too). But, there was something… strange, for a lack of a better word, about him. He hasn't told anyone about this, but when he saw Helen looking so scared, he seemed small.

No. Vulnerable, is the word he is looking for.

Johnny has been in this rotten world and the first unwritten rule is to never let others in. Don't show weakness in front of the enemy, do not be vulnerable. Johnny has never seen someone look like that. Even when Liu snapped when he saw his brother he wasn't scared, he was angry. The reason was one that everybody knew.

Helen on the other hand.

Johnny could see the terror on his pale face. Like he's seen a demon. Johnny was impressed that despite all that, Helen didn't tremble. At all. If Nathan had done something so horrible even Jeff the fucking Killer wanted to slice him into pieces, then any normal person would collapse and probably bawl their eyes out. At least he thinks that.

Helen, despite the vulnerability he showed, stood firm. Well, they were sitting, but you get the idea. He didn't cry, tremble or collapse. Perhaps he bit his nails to prevent himself from doing that. A lot of killers like themselves often did that. No, maybe even those people wouldn't do that for that purpose. But having the majority suffer from more than one mental illness, you might never know.

Small, but stubborn.

"What's with the frown?" Johnny glanced at the door and saw Smiley leaning against the doorframe. Johnny sat up with a sigh.

"Nothing."

"Doesn't look like nothing to me." Smiley said, walking towards Johnny and sitting on his roommate's bed to face Johnny. "Tell me what's wrong, I am a doctor after all." He said with a smile.

Johnny snickered before fiddling with his fingers. "Is it-um… it's silly really."

"I won't judge."

Johnny knitted his eyebrows together. "Is it normal to suddenly feel curious about someone you hated for years?"

Smiley stared at Johnny before chuckling. "Curious in what way? Is our dear Johnny crushing on someone?"

Johnny laughed. "Fuck no!" He glanced at Smiley. "But, I guess I just want to know what happened?"

"Hm?"

"Like, I want to know their trauma?"

Smiley looked at him with a serious expression. "Johnathan, would you share your own trauma with any stranger?"

"N-No, I kno-"

"Then, would you just befriend someone just to know how fuck up they are? Would you like Helen to friend you then leave you after exposing you?"

Johnny stayed quiet. "Yeah, I guess that's an asshole move."

"There you go."

"Hey, wait," Johnny looked at him with narrowed eyes. "How did you know I was-"

"It's obvious." Smiley said with a grin. "And of course I would know, who do you think I am?"

"Right." Johnny said with a smile. Smiley chuckled before standing up with his hands on his white coat's pockets.

"Though I must warn you, his situation might be more intense than what his friends are going through." Smiley said in a serious tone before grinning and bid a confused Johnny goodbye.

"Jeff!" Nina shouted with a wide grin. "It's been a while, how have you been?"

"Same as usual, anyway, is Angel here?"

Nina's grin faded and with a sigh, she leaned against the doorframe. "Jeff, you know she doesn't like you or Ben since-"

"I know, but I need to speak with her." Jeff said.

"What's so important that you need to talk to her?"

"It's… about Helen."

Nina stared at him. "Huh? Are you an idiot? You know damn well that Angel doesn't want to talk about Helen anymo-"

"It's okay, Nina." Judge Angel. She looked the same as ever, blonde short hair and pure black eyes. "I'm fine now."

Nina glanced at her worried. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Angel walked towards them and wrapped her arms around Nina's waist. Startling and making her partner blush.

"A-Angel?"

Angel smiled softly at her. "I will be fine, since I have you now." While Nina ran to the kitchen to hide her red face, Angel and Jeff sat in the living room.

"So, what brings you here?"

"It's about Helen, well, more so about you-know-who." Jeff said, the last part through gritted teeth. Angel closed her eyes and sighed as she intertwined her fingers together.

"Is that so?" Angel opened her eyes. "I wonder, the last time I heard about Helen was after Nathan was kicked out of Slender's territory."

"Then, let me fill in the blanks."

Jane once heard a rumor about Nathan, about how he used to live in Slender's territory before he was kicked out of it because Jeff "didn't like him". Making Jeff be hated a lot more since it has been proven that whoever Jeff doesn't like, Slender would gladly get rid of them for him.

Yet, there was always something that bugged Jane about that rumor. If Nathan was really wrongfully exiled, then why isn't he bothering to even fight for his house? Why is he so calm and at the mention of Jeff's name instead of anger there's a sadistic look on his eyes?

"Jane?" Sally waved a hand through Jane's eyes.

"Looks like your friend is wasted." Offender said, setting a glass of water in front of Jane. "Hope it helps."

"Thanks, Offender."

"Aw, what happened to calling me Offendy?"

Sally rolled her eyes. "I'm not that young anymore."

"Lazari still calls me that and she's, what, the same age as you?"

Sally laughed. "No way, she's older." Jane blinked, forgetting Sally had invited her out. With a sigh, she gulped down the whole glass and set it down with a frown.

"Offender, you know more than any information sources we have, right?" Jane asked. Offenders stopped cleaning the glass on his hands. "If you are-"

"I don't speak for free, Janey." Offender smirked. "And whatever you might ask me, I swore to keep all that I know to my grave."

"Aren't you immortal?" Sally asked with an eyebrow raised. Offender chuckled and shrugged. Jane glared at Offender, surprisingly enough he was a tough person to bribe.

"Why won't you tell me!? Aren't we your favorites?" Jane asked annoyed, slamming a hand on the barstool.

Offender laughed. "Yes, but you aren't in first place."

"Then, who is?" Sally asked, curious to see who was Offender's favorite couple. Before he could speak, someone sat on the barstool wearing a black hoodie. Jane glanced at him, amidst the dark lit cabin and the blasting music, Jane could swear it was an average civilian.

"One Diablo Shot." He spoke, Jane frowned. That voice, where could she have heard it before.

"Here you go sir." Offender passed a golden key to the stranger. He took it and headed to the basement.

Sally took a sip of her drink. "You dealing with humans now?"

Offender smirked. "Oh, but he isn't any regular human."

Jane sighed. "Forget it, I didn't want to know anyway!" She pouted and Sally just giggled before patting Jane on the head.

Helen took a shower for the second time. He wasn't doing anything, heck he was in with his clothes on. He just wanted to feel the cold water hit him. Helen cupped his hands for the water to pool until it was overflowing. Fuck. He was doing so well, he was…

A knock on the bathroom door took him out of his dark ocean of thoughts. "Helen, are you okay? Can I come in?" Ben asked, the worry evident in his tone. Helen turned the water off, he wanted to speak. But all of a sudden he just wanted to be alone.

"Is Jeff back yet?"

"No."

"Mm." Helen got out of the shower and forced himself to open the door. Ben gasped at the sight of a drenched Helen and quickly went for a towel as he told Helen to take off his clothes. Ah, shit. He was being useless again, wasn't he? Just like Nathan wanted.

"Are you really going to let someone like that ruin you?"

Helen took a deep breath and clenched his fists. No, he wasn't going to fall back. That's what Nathan wanted and there was no way in hell Helen will give that bastard the satisfaction of winning.

When Jeff came back, Helen looked better. He might not show it on his face, but those who were close to him noticed his change. Ben glanced at Jeff and shrugged with a small smile. Jeff smirked, well, he isn't sure what exactly happened but he's glad his friend is back on his feet. In any case, he already knows what to do in case Helen gets like that.

"So, I've been thinking, I don't think we can just waltz our way into Zalgo's place like we have been doing."

"Then how else are we going to get there?" Jeff asked, sitting next to Ben on the three person couch. Helen hummed and before any of them could say anything, Mr. Widemouth opened the door to their apartment.

Mr. Widemouth had a serious look. "Slender is calling for a jurisdiction meeting." The three friends looked at each other surprised. It's been years since Slender pulled a meeting like that. Jeff tensed up, feeling like something he didn't like would happen and knowing Slender, that was exactly the case.

They all started to walk towards the woods. Jeff looked around, the only people he recognized were the ones living in Mr. Widemouth's apartment and Ben's roomies. All of these new killers or monsters were people he's never seen. And still, all of the newbies hate him because of Slender. It was to be expected anyway, but it kinda sucked anyway.

"It's been a while since I've gone back to this hell hole." Jeff mumbled in annoyance as they all stepped inside the mysterious manor in the middle of the woods. They were all led to the meeting room and as always, Jeff and his friends stood at the very back. Slender was nowhere in sight, but his proxies were at the front. Brian was talking to some people Jeff didn't recognize while Tim and Toby were in their own world.

"You know, surprisingly I miss these meetings." Helen said. Not a single thing has changed. Other than the fact that most OGs have gone to other territories and a shit ton of newbies joined.

"Really? I'm glad they were done to be honest, it was just a waste of time for me." Ben said, impatiently tapping his foot.

Jeff frowned. What is happening? The last meeting was about a change in the join requests and that was the last time Slender held a meeting. Jeff felt his guts telling him there was something wrong.

Then, Slender appeared right next to his proxies. The murmurs and whispers stopped. The people talking to Brian hurried to their places and the proxy couple had their full attention to whatever their boss was going to say. "I know it's very late, but thanks for coming." Slender said. Jeff gulped and crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. "I have been informed by a reliable source that the police have asked a special unit to help them with the homicides of this city."

"I don't like where this is going." Helen whispered and Jeff nodded.

"Our source has told us that they are not to be underestimated, since they already caught one of us."

"Who?" Someone from the crowd asked.

Slender stayed quiet for a moment. "The Rake." Jeff straightened up, looking at Slender scared and with anger.

"What about Smile Dog!?" He shouted.

"He hasn't been found yet, but according to our source he's safe from that unit for now." Slender said, his tone softening when speaking to Jeff. Helen put a hand on Jeff's shoulder as Ben glanced worriedly at his friend. Jeff was trembling, his fist clenched. No, no, Slender said he was safe. "As a result of this," Jeff frowned, was he going to say what he thinks he's going to say. "We are going on a lockdown."

"What!?"

"A lockdown?"

"That's not fair! I just joined last week."

"Well, shit," Helen murmured, glancing at his friends. "I never expected Slender to have us on lockdown."

Jeff let out a sigh. "It was the only option left, so of course he would say that."

Ben stayed quiet. There must be a way to leave without being caught, especially since they are going on a lockdown. "Lucky for me, Benny can smuggle me in without being caught." Sally's words resonated. There might be a way after all. "Guys, I think I know a way." Ben whispered loud enough for his friends to hear. Jeff and Helen had their full attention as Slender continued to answer questions. "But I need to confirm something, can you cover for me?" Ben asked, his eyes determined.

"Sure."

"Be quick."

Ben nodded. "Slender, may I go to the restroom?"

Slender sighed. "If any of you need to go, just go, don't ask." He said. Forgetting completely that Ben didn't need to go since he was already dead. Ben smirked and nodded at his friends before leaving the meeting room.

"How long will we be in lockdown?"

"Until further notice."

"What will we do until then!? How can we pay the taxes when we can't kill!?"

"Your taxes will be frozen until lockdown passes, until then, you'll have to start looking for daytime jobs if you don't already have one."

"Does that mean we can't go to the neutral areas either!?"

"Correct, that's why it's called a lockdown."

Jeff sighed. "This is the worst thing that has happened."

"I agree." Helen said, glancing at the door. "I hope Ben is doing fine and hurry up."

In order for Ben to travel to other places through the TV or even a tablet, Ben has to make a connection and bookmark it so it's easy to access it. Otherwise, he would have to spend a lot of days, even months looking to connect through a computer in someone else's house. Ben had half his arms in the living room TV, his eyes were now completely blue with static.

Ben blinked. "Found it." He said, his eyes going back to normal before he threw himself into the TV.

"Come on Lorena, tell Marco Antonio you love him." Johnny said, his eyes stuck to the TV in the entertainment area. LJ was eating popcorn and Kagekao, mask off, was drinking wine as he also ate popcorn from the bowl LJ had made them in.

"Lorena fits better with Luis Miguel." LJ commented. Johnny glared at him.

In that moment, the program was interrupted by static and the three gasped. "Oh no! What is happening!?"

"Is it broken? EJ is going to nag us." LJ said, tearing up already while Kagekao mumbled anxiously in japanese. Then, Ben's half body was out of the TV. Three pairs of eyes stared at Ben's red ones.

"Ha, I did it!"

"Ben?" LJ raised an eyebrow. Ben only smiled before going back into the TV. The program was back on, showing Lorena crying in the room and Marco Antonio was nowhere to be seen.

Johnny took a deep breath. "What the actual fuck!?" He shouted.

Ben was back, making Jeff and Helen relieved as the meeting was almost over. "Did it work?" Jeff whispered and Ben nodded with a triumphant smile. Helen and Jeff looked at each other with wide grins.

"Well then, that's enough questions, this meeting is dismissed."

There was an emergency meeting in the abandoned hospital. Johnny gulped as he saw Zalgo walk in and sat down with them. Once everyone was there, EJ stood up and walked to the center of the room. "We have been informed by one of our allies that the Slender territory is currently on lockdown."

"Lockdown!?" Jason shouted with wide eyes. Zalgo's face remained neutral.

"According to them, a special unit has been put near their jurisdiction, making them unable to act."

"But, they've dealt with the police before," Liu said, raising an eyebrow skeptical. "Why are they doing this for a unit?"

EJ stayed quiet for a moment. "They… have caught one of us."

"What!?" Jason shouted in shock. "Who?"

Dr. Smiley glanced at the floor, for the newbies it might be nothing. But those who have been killing for a long time, it's scary to think that you might get caught. EJ glanced at Dr. Smiley before sighing. "The Rake."

Johnny widened his eyes. "Isn't he-"

"An OG like me, yes." EJ said, his expression grim. Though, Zalgo still had a neutral facade.

"So, will this prevent our plan?" Zalgo asked, feeling as though that's not the only thing Jack wanted to say. He shook his head.

"No, in fact, one of our allies has found a way to sneak into our place without going out."

"Good." Zalgo sighed. Secretly, he was relieved. He stood up and looked at Jack right into his eye sockets. "We can't afford to relax, just because that unit is currently sniffing in Slender's place doesn't mean they won't go around sniffing us or the neutral areas."

"That is true, after all, The Rake was living in neutral land." Dr. Smiley said, looking up.

Zalgo nodded. "Which is why we need to stay alert."

"Are we going on lockdown too?"

"No, we just need to be smarter and stay alert." Zalgo said. Liu nodded. "Well then, I wished you all the best of luck." Zalgo said, walking out of the meeting as a sign to dismiss it as well. Everyone let out a breath, but glanced at each other warily. This was the first time the local police had asked for a unit for help. Jack frowned, he has a bad feeling about this.

Johnny had gone out to buy some groceries, drinking the special potion given to them by Zalgo. It was hard to think that this week Christmas was coming. They don't celebrate it, but he��s seen others do the Santa exchange and some give gifts to their partners. To be honest, Johnny found that lonely. He wasn't a big fan, but even one gift was cool. He guessed.

Maybe I should buy a gift for myself. Johnny thought. He was so lost on what he could possibly gift himself that he accidentally bumped carts with someone. "Oh shit, sorry."

"Ugh, it's you." Johnny perked up at that voice and blinked. Helen was, apparently, shopping too. Though he wasn't alone, like Johnny. Jeff was next to him, hiding his scars with a black mask.

"Oh, you're the one that lives with Jack, right?" Jeff asked.

Johnny blinked. Didn't we talk already before? He thought. "Yeah, that's me."

"Can you give a message to him?"

"Uh, sure."

"215 987 231." Helen glanced at him with an eyebrow raised. Johnny blinked and mentally cursed. He wasn't sure to remember that kind of message, what the fuck was that anyway? Some sort of mathematical morse code?

"He needs to write that down, can't you see that he's a moron?"

Johnny felt the left corner of his lip and eye twitch. "I can remember that!"

"Oh really? Repeat the numbers then."

"215 987 231." Johnny said with a smirk. Helen hummed with an unamused look before turning away.

"He'll forget it on the way, let's continue Jeff."

"Hey!" Johnny called out annoyed. Jeff glanced back at Johnny.

"Make sure to tell him as soon as you see him." Jeff said, pointing his finger at him before catching up to Helen. Johnny sighed, repeating the numbers on his mind as he continued his shopping. Though he would bump into Helen sometimes and they would always bicker.

Much to Johnny's dismay, Helen was on the same line as him to pay. Johnny decided to ignore him as he waited for the old lady in front of him to pay. Johnny glanced at Helen over his shoulder. He was talking with Jeff. Johnny has to admit that compared to the last time, Helen seemed better. "What are you staring at?" Helen asked annoyed.

Johnny clicked his tongue. "How ugly you are, no wonder you use a mask." He said while he almost got hit with Helen's cart. After he paid, he turned towards Helen one more time. The painter was already glaring at him while Jeff slowly took out his wallet. "Well, at least you look better than last time." He said before quickly escaping from the store.

Jeff looked at Johnny leave with surprise before glancing back at Helen, who was as shocked as him. "Looks like you are no longer a poker face master."

"Shut up."

"Alright, alright."

"Welcome back." Jack greeted Johnny as he came back from the store. He helped the puppeteer with some of the bags and set them on the kitchen where LJ was chatting with Dr. Smiley.

"Ah, right on time." Dr. Smiley said, walking to the bags and getting the food and other stuff out. LJ started to help him put the food in its place. Jack was going back to his office, but Johnny caught up to him.

��Hey, Jack?"

"Hm, what's up?"

"Uh, so, I ran into Jeff and Helen at the store."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but that's not important, Jeff sent a message to you."

Jack hummed amused. "I'm all ears."

Johnny glanced away nervously. What were the numbers again? Oh, right! "215 987 231?" Jack blinked. He stared at Johnny for one solid minute before grinning widely and patting Johnny on the shoulder.

"Thanks for the message." Jack said before walking to his office in a strange uplifted mood. Johnny just stood there confused and for two reasons. Jack really understood what those numbers menat? And holy shit! Did Jack grin? It wasn't a smirk like usual?

Johnny sighed. "Those two have been weird since they met."

Helen leaned on the doorframe of Jeff's room as he listened to a Gorillaz album on his portable CD player. "I can't believe you gave your number to that guy." Helen said, shaking his head. Jeff rolled his eyes before putting his special eye drops.

"I don't use it at all and since we are going to be on lockdown, I can just annoy him whenever I want."

"We are still going to meet with them, right?"

"That, I don't know." Jeff said, sitting up and pausing as he takes off his earphones. "See? Sharing my phone number was a good idea after all." Jeff smirked and Helen sighed before sitting on the bed.

"Yeah right, it never crossed your mind at all." Helen said. Before Jeff could answer, his burner phone started to ring and a sudden rush of excitement filled his chest as he cleared his throat before answering the phone.

"You sure took your sweet ass time." Jeff said, smiling widely. Helen shook his head, the only thing he was seeing was a dog happily wailing his tail. An ugly ass dog mind you.

Meanwhile, on the other line of the phone, Jack chuckled and tapped the desk with his thumb. "Well, someone made me buy a phone in order to call."

"You could have just called from a street phone."

"And miss the chance to save the grandiose phone number of the notorious Jeff the Killer? No way!"

Jeff laughed at the other side of the line, Jack closed his eyes. "I guess I'll allow you to have my number."

"Oh, what an honor." They laughed. "In any case, you have mine now and we can contact each other in case something happens."

"Right, by the way, are we still doing the operation?"

"Of course, you aren't going to escape from me that easily."

"What a shame."

Jack snickered. "Same time tomorrow."

"Got it."

"You haven't encountered anyone from that unit, right?" Jack asked. A faint 'mhm' was heard. Jack tightened his grip on the phone. "If you get caught before we can even do something, I'll laugh at you before killing you myself."

Jeff smiled. Understanding the intent behind those words. "Not even in your wildest dreams will I, the great Jeff, be caught by anyone not even you." Jack laughed, receiving the message. He glanced at the file he had of Slender, the constant reminder that he shouldn't go over the line since he still needed to meet up with someone.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sure." Jeff said before hanging up. Jack set his phone down and sighed. Hopefully the unit leaves soon so they can get things faster.

A sharp knife laid on the table in front of his eyes. His lover behind him, staring at him. Helen felt like trembling, but dug his nails into his arms to prevent it. Helen stared blankly at the weapon laid in front of him. Nathan snickered and put his arms on Helen's shoulder. "Don't worry, it would be like the first time we took an oath to Slender, but this time the oath is between us."

Helen sat down in front of his white canvas, he didn't bother to prepare any paint. He couldn't even use a pencil to sketch first. Helen's fingertips touch the canvas lightly before standing up and leaving the room. He took his coat with him and knocked on Jeff's door before opening it. "Are you done talking with your boyfriend?"

Jeff, who went back to listening to Gorillaz, frowned. "He's not my boyfriend."

"Anyway, I'm going out for a walk."

"Mhm, be careful." Jeff said, rolling to his left side and give his back to Helen. Helen closed the door and walked out of the apartment. It's been a while, but he decided to take a walk in the woods. It's not like the only one who could set foot in them was Jeff anyway, but it sure did bring Helen memories he wanted to forget. The worst part is that they weren't bad ones. It was one of the few times he was at ease and like a fool let his guard down once too many times.

"Why the long face, my friend?" Helen blinked and stopped walking. A man with wavy dark hair and dark eyes was leaning against a tree. He was looking at Helen with a smirk and narrowed his eyes.

Helen looked at him cautiously. It wasn't weird for civilians to walk in the woods too, but normally they are always with someone since Slender's presence has caused rumors amongst the city. "Just personal problems."

"Oh? I can lend an ear, I've been told I'm a good listener."

Helen shifted uncomfortably. "I don't feel like sharing with a stranger."

The man laughed. "It's okay, I won't judge."

"Even if you don't, I'm not feeling like sharing." Helen said with a sigh. He was going to walk away but the man spoke again.

"What a shame, in that case, what can you tell me about the urban legends around here? You know, like that tall monster that lives here." At that, Helen froze dead on his tracks. For a split second, Helen had a shocked and paranoiac expression but turned back into his poker face when he turned back to face the man again.

"Urban legends? I don't believe in such things."

The man chuckled, a glint of something Helen couldn't decipher was reflected on his eyes. "Is that so? Then, I guess you won't be able to help me."

"Seems so."

"But, in the slight chance that you do change your mind, here's my contact." The man said, walking towards Helen and giving him a contact card info. The name on the card was 'Viktor S. Lewis' below that was a phone number.

Helen glanced at the man. "May I ask, why are you so interested in urban legends? Are you a so-called paranormal investigator?"

Viktor smiled, but his eyes didn't seem to coordinate with his lips. "Let's say that I am, yeah."

Helen prevented himself from gulping. "Well, let me tell you that you are just wasting your time."

Viktor shrugged. "I don't know about that, after all, seeing is believing." He said with a sinister smile. Helen kept the card in the pocket of his jacket.

"If you say so."

"Have a nice day." Viktor said as Helen walked away from there. Once he was out of the woods, he started running back to the apartment.

Christmas Eve was going to be on Friday. Jeff stared at the abyss as he listened to the last track of his Gorillaz album. The music and lyrics no longer could stay in his mind, Jeff was somewhere else. His body was there, sure, but his mind was going back to old memories. Mostly of his family, when his parents were alive and his brother didn't hate him.

Jeff goes back to all the christmas parties he's spent with his family up to when he committed murder. His first Christmas before Liu, after Liu, the Christmas where Jeff and Liu had to spend it in the hospital because their father had broken a leg during his work. All of those colorful and pure memories that no longer fitted the killer.

For a long time now, he hasn't been able to spend Christmas with his brother. After all, his parents can no longer come back. Ah, the song had already ended minutes ago. Jeff takes off his headphones and curls up in his bed. Was it worth it?

What he did was right, wasn't it? He chose the right path. He must have, right?

Maybe…

Maybe it was time to-

"Jeff!" Helen's voice snapped Jeff out of his thoughts. Jeff cleared his throat as he sat up and watched Helen come into his room with a panicked look on his face. Jeff sighed internally. Yup, he chose the right path.

Inhuman screeching resonated inside an isolated room. Though, its cries didn't reach anyone. A certain dog carefully glanced around before whimpering and looking at the eerie building where a certain group of humans had his friend locked away. Even from here, Smile Dog could hear the laments of his friend and how scared to death he was. Smile Dog can detect pain in his screeches, but hopefully it's due to the fear and not because there was any physical harm.

"I promise to come back for you!" barked one last time Smile Dog before sprinting off to the only place where he was sure to get help. It's been a long while, Smile Dog wonders how his best friend has been?

Viktor S. Lewis, someone that is part of the special unit in charge of getting rid of them. Jeff hummed in thought. The question is, what exactly is his position? Is he the leader or just a henchman? It must be close to noon and neither of them have had a wink of sleep. Though it was normal for them to suffer insomnia from time to time. Now that they can sneak out, it was worth asking Jack about this.

Jeff chuckled. Hopefully the hours pass by quickly, it was fun to talk to the cannibal after all. Helen was about to make coffee when a familiar set of barks and scratching of the door took the killers' attention. Jeff abruptly stood up and walked towards the door. He glanced at Helen before opening the door, a black and red dog with the widest grin pounced on Jeff, tackling him to the ground.

"Smile Dog!" Jeff cried in joy as his best friend barked and licked his face. Jeff laughed as Helen closed the door and secretly smiled that his friend was reunited with his pet.

"Yo." Helen said, once Smile Dog got off Jeff and the killer sat up. Smile Dog barked/greeted Helen back. Jeff didn't allow himself to cry, not yet at least. Once he and Smile Dog went to his room, Jeff didn't hesitate to go down and hug Smile tightly. Smile Dog whined and licked Jeff's left side of his face as tears started to roll down his eyes.

"I'm glad you're okay." Jeff sighed before wiping his own tears with a laugh and petting his companion. "I heard Rake was caught, did you see what happened?" Smile dog barked one time, meaning yes. "I'm sorry about your friend."

Smile Dog whined before nuzzling closer to his owner. Jeff looked at Smile Dog with knitted eyebrows before hugging his companion once again. "It's okay, we'll set him free somehow." Jeff murmured against its fur. Smile Dog whined one last time before setting his head on Jeff's shoulder. At last, the 'smiling duo' was back together. Though, either of them would have appreciated it in different situations.

Viktor came back from interviewing a few local people about the urban legends and also about the fact that multiple serial killers might be hiding in the city or not. There were a few people like the gentleman he met in the woods earlier this morning who did not believe in creatures like the "Slender Man" or "Seedeater". Others who might believe in it too much to the point where they say it was a failed government experiment sent to the city to eat all of the civilians and create a "radioactive" ghost town like Chernobyl.

The police station looked as grim as when he first arrived yesterday night. It was understandable since none of them, despite their so called best efforts has managed to catch a single serial killer. Not even the most wanted and the most grotesque when it comes to killing, Jeffrey Woods.

Had they not talked to the family survivor when he was still recovering at the hospital, they probably wouldn't know his name. Though, some people were already calling him the 'Smiley Face Killer' and his absolute favorite, 'Cheshire Killer'.

"Hey." Viktor greeted his friend and partner for this special case. A man a little shorter than him with long white hair tied in a low ponytail and mismatching colored eyes glanced at his friend with narrowed eyes.

"Did you buy it?"

"Not even a single hello?" Viktor laughed as he handed a small paper bag with a single biscuit inside. "How's the investigation going?"

"Nothing much, just shady paranormal forums with he said/she said and shitty blurry pictures of the supposed sightings."

"At least you aren't stuck with boring criminal profiles we have been studying for the last years~"

"Nobody asked, Al."

"True, but I'm just stating my opinion, Oliver."

"Now, now," Viktor laughed. "We're doing an important job here."

"How did the interviews go?" Al asked, raising an eyebrow while having a hopeful smile. Viktor sighed and shook his head.

"They either think we're behind them or that they don't exist."

"What about our killers?"

"Oh, they are here alright." Viktor said, remembering how he spoke to two families whose daughters were murdered by Jeff. Following his rushed pattern whenever he gets cornered and then going silent for a while. "Besides, catching monsters might be easier than catching humans."

Al shrugged. "That's true, we already caught one anyway."

"I can't believe that thing actually exists." Oliver sighed as he took a bite of his biscuit. Viktor sat down next to Oliver and helped his friend to see which "rumors" might be a lead. Al sighed as he continued to re-read the same files of their current serial killers. Heck, even Diane and Lou's work was more fun than this. Hm? There's something missing.

Helen plopped down on his bed, feeling tired and sleepy now. He glanced at the untouched sketchbook sitting atop of his drawer. Lockdown sucks, perhaps he'll take that as an opportunity to try and draw a little. Even if it's just the landscape of the city.

Helen closed his eyes. Yeah, tomorrow he will do that.

Nathan let out a long sighed, his breath visible in the cold air of the evening. He was bored out of his mind. The person who used to play with him is no longer with him and this time for good. Though, Nathan takes pleasure in knowing that he still has an effect on Helen. He tries his best to hide it, but Nathan can see right through him.

"Aren't you cold?" Pain asked, opening the door and glancing down at Nathan sitting on the porch.

Nathan shrugged. "I just wanted to clear my mind."

"I see."

"Christmas is this week, huh?"

"Yup and the year is almost over too." Pain said with a smile. "Time sure flies fast, huh?" Nathan disagreed. The year had been painfully long, he barely even got to enjoy it. Or, it could be that life was never the same since Helen wasn't there with him. It just went back to being boring.

Nathan sighed internally. "I want for the year to be over already."

"Haha, I know." Pain said, glancing up at the sun setting. "I wonder what surprises we will see next year as well."

"Well, hopefully they are exciting ones, I'm so bored."

Pain chuckled. "Well, I'm about to make dinner. Would you like to help?" Nathan shrugged before standing up and following Dr. Pain inside.

"Hey." Johnny said awkwardly as Helen stood up and dusted himself off from getting out of the TV like Ben is used to doing. The painter glanced at him before ignoring him. Johnny took a deep breath before sighing and following everyone to the meeting room. Slender's side might be on lockdown and the proxies can finally rest (Although Kagekao is glad for this, he is back to being sad over not seeing Brian), but aside from the scouting allies teams, the rest had to stay and help Jack with a plan.

Jeff, Helen noticed, seemed a little pouty and annoyed that there were more people with them. Helen snickered. "A head on attack could work, I mean, we just corner him and his proxies and we can make our demands." Johnny said, trying to give something to the conversation.

"It wouldn't work." Helen and Jeff said in unison, both with annoyed looks on their faces as they glanced at Johnny. "Well, geez, I was just trying to contribute" Johnny thought as he glared at Helen before sighing and resting his cheekbone on his right fist.

"Why wouldn't it?" LJ asked, tilting his head in confusion.

Helen was about to speak, but Jeff raised a hand to him. Helen nodded. "Slender might seem impulsive at first, but he is not an OG and used to be the most respected and feared for nothing."

"Meaning?"

"He has eyes everywhere, whether the newbies or anyone living there like it or not, if someone wanted to attack Slender head on, we are obligated to tell Slender about it."

"So? We just convince the people to stay quiet."

"Are you listening? We are obligated to tell, it's on our contract and we can not physically break it either." Helen scoffed. Johnny tried his best not to snap back and counted to ten.

Jack tapped the wooden table with his thumb. "Then how come you can be here?"

"There's a loophole in the contract." Jeff said, resting his chin on his right palm. He frowned and glanced down at the table. "Slender is not stupid, so betraying him is obviously taking into consideration, but it's what he thinks as betrayal that matters."

Helen nodded. "In the contract it says that if we were to live in the Slender territory whilst still being in a contract with Zalgo, it's already forbidden for that killer to enter his side as it is obvious that the person is acting as a spy."

"If you leave out of the blue without breaking the contract, even if it's to a neutral land, it is considered as betrayal."

"And lastly, if you conspire against Slender right under his nose, it counts as betrayal."

Kagekao hummed. "Aren't you three conspiring though?"

Jeff smirked. "Yeah, but that's the loophole." Everyone raised looked at the two dark haired killers in confusion. Helen chuckled and glanced at his friend with a smirk. "It says right under his nose, which means conspiring against him in his own territory."

"It doesn't say anything about conspiring somewhere else."

"Oh I remember, it was implemented after some newbies tried to dethroned him." EJ said, a sudden flashback on how everyone was called to renew the contract as a new addition had been added.

LJ raised his hand. "Excuse me, I would like to know what you mean by physically obligated to tell?"

Jeff leaned back against the chair as he crossed his arms. "Slender is not human and although I don't know how he does it, he makes us obey him or else we pay with a part of our bodies."

"Ben was almost killed that way, his physical spot is his neck." Helen said, frowning while Jeff had a blank stare. EJ noticed the behaviour of Jeff, he's never seen that expression on him.

"Wait, how can he die if he's already dead?" Kagekao asked, scratching his head.

"Well-"

"We are not obligated to tell you that." Jeff said, though his blank stare remained. "And we won't tell you ours either, but each killer has its own spot."

"Even the proxies have it." Helen said. Johnny whistled. Slender's contracts and punishment sound awful, how can people decide to live there? Well, it must be because at the time, Slender was the only "strong one" around here before Zalgo showed up. Johnny has heard rumors that before anyone else could come to the city of devils as it has been dubbed thanks to the high homicide rate and disappearances everyone has brought, Zalgo and Slender would fight over who will have full control over the whole city.

Rumor has it that it was a human who, after finding out about their existence, told them that it was impossible. That if the people so wished to, they could call the government and have them be tested like if they were aliens from Mars. The human said that each one of them will have their own areas, make their own rules but in exchange, they would have to settle for having two neutral areas. The human wanted for the neutral areas to be free of killing, but ultimately that was the only thing neither kept as promised.

"So, how does that tie in to not being able to do a head on attack?" Kagekao asked, annoyed and not understanding well what the fuck was being talked about.

"Slender is strong, so he can actually handle multiple attacks even when cornered and after getting rid of the intruders, he would punish all of us if we all decided to just let it happen and not tell him."

"That sucks."

"What can we say? The bastard has gotten better at working under pressure." Helen huffed. Johnny was lost in thought for a moment. Even if the people under Slender rebel, due to the contract, it would count as betrayal and they would suffer the consequences. But, what if people who are not under contract attack him?

"If only there was some way to smuggle a lot of people." Johnny mumbled. Jeff and EJ glanced at Johnny surprised before they glanced at each other. They silently stared at each other as if they were telepathically communicating. Are they thinking what Johnny is thinking?

"Johnathan, what do you have in mind?" EJ asked, glancing at the puppeteer with a smirk. As if he already knows what Johnny was about to say.

"Um… I was thinking that, since no one over there can rebel against Slender because of the contract, I was thinking what if people who are not under one attack him? Sure he might be strong, but at least they have the advantage that Slender doesn't have their physical weakness."

Jeff laughed. "That's so?"

Helen glanced at him surprised. "Wow, that's the first smart thin you have said since I got here."

"Shut the fuck up, nobody asked your opinon."

"There is a way, so long as there's a TV or a computer, Ben and his other friends can smuggle them in."

"The only thing that we should look out for is when they get out of our apartment or someone else's, if a group goes out all at once it would look suspicious."

"Well, that sounds like a plan to me, don't you think mister kidnapper?"

"It needs to be polished a little, but I agree, my dear victim." EJ said, glancing at Jeff and both of them smirking at each other. When everyone came back, they told the pseudo-plan to the rest and everyone came in agreement to it. It was time for their allies to go and Smiley nudged Johnny. Johnny clicked his tongue and cleared his throat before approaching Helen.

"Hey, uh, I know we are rivals and um, we had our differences, but since we are going to work together, why don't we try to get along?" Johnny said, giving Helen his hand for a handshake. Helen blinked and stared at him incredulously. Behind the painter, his friends were snickering and looking at Helen, waiting expectantly for what his answer would be.

Helen's face went back to being stoic, but inside his mind was panicking. This approach was awkward and seemed sincere, but Helen isn't sure on expanding his inner circle and the more he stared at Johnny, the more he felt his ears become warm. "Huh? Why would I try to get along with a moron like you? Fuck no, see ya." Was what Helen ended up saying before hurrying his friends to the TV as they laughed.

EJ tried to contain his laugh by fake coughing and patted Johnny on the back. The others were laughing their asses off as Johnny was still processing what just happened. Johnny blinked, before he clenched his fists, started trembling out of anger and felt a warm rush in his cheeks. "Whatever! Who wanted to be friends with him anyway? He can kiss my ass for all I care!" Johnny huffed before storming off to his rooms with a strange weight on his chest.

Smiley sighed. "Oh boy." He said, before walking to the garden behind the hospital. Things are barely getting started, but Smiley has the feeling that at the end of the day, he will be the one to clean up the mess everyone else is bound to make. He sighed. "God fucking damn it."