"Billy...!? Stu...!?" You stammered in surprise, not expecting them to knock at the slashers' front door and greet you so enthusiastically. "H...How long have you been standing there...?"
"Well, we already know your usual waking hours, so we were just waiting for you to get ready." Billy eagerly explained, hugging you from the side whilst Stu held one of your hands between his and gave it a gentle squeeze instead.
"We were wondering if you'd like to walk over to the University together. Y'know, with us instead of the others." Stu offered warmly, trying to be more civil and calm than Billy, due to the fact that his friend was acting extremely overexcited.
"I...Well, um...Sure..." You nervously replied, pink colouring your cheeks as you attempted to calm down your sporadic heartbeat. "Just let me tell the others about this real quick—"
"Y-YOU-!" Norman angrily snapped from behind you, recognising Billy and also recalling their last fight. "W-What are YOU two d-doing here!?"
"Jesus Christ, you sure are slow." Billy spoke with a superior smirk, sarcasm dripping from his tone while he rolled his eyes and retaliated smugly.
"Isn't it obvious...?" Stu joined in smoothly, watching you turn around to face the others and therefore break the handholding in the process. "We were wondering if (Y/n) wanted to walk to the University together."
"We do go to the same one, after all~" Billy arrogantly added, amused by his remark and purposely trying to aggravate Norman.
"O-Oh gimme a B-BREAK...!" The dark-haired male shouted at them in disgust, stamping his foot and easily taking the bait to become provoked.
"As I previously recall, you don't actually go to the same one as her." Hannibal politely interjected, leaning against the front door's frame with folded arms. "You just wormed yourselves in-between the lines like the lowlives you are, and then cheated your way through the system to fit in with the other students."
"So? Who cares?" Stu casually remarked, shrugging it off before tossing the psychiatrist a proud grin in return. "In fact, I think us being able to sneak-in in the first place makes us even smarter."
"Damn straight." Billy agreed wickedly, high-fiving Stu whilst the two of them behaved uncaring towards the others and waited for you.
"Oh, how I'd LOVE to just take you BOTH out RIGHT now and be DONE with it." Pennywise threatened in a malicious manner, insanely smiling after he'd materialised a little further down.
"Okay...! Okay...!" You interrupted with a strained, high-pitched tone of voice, cutting into their conversation before it carried on longer. "I think that's enough for one morning, don't you guys think...?"
"Enough for one morning...? Sweetie, I could go on and on and on, and—"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah...I get it." You cut across Penny with major sarcasm of your own, raising your eyebrows at the same time and doing your best to regain your usual composure. "Now can I please head out to my Uni classes...? I'm going to be late at this rate."
"Of course, mi amore. My apologies in case I've caused you any future problems. It was never my intention to do so." Hannibal responded respectfully, holding one of your hands in his and pressing his lips lightly against the top.
"Oh, uh...You needn't go that far..." You stuttered in embarrassment, your pink cheeks brightening due to the very courteous reply and very sweet kiss. "I'm pretty sure I can still make it in time..."
"That's if they actually let you leave." Stu murmured under his breath coldly, him and Billy both shooting the others an icy glare.
"They will, they will...! They're just concerned about my safety, that's all." You spoke soothingly, keeping everything calm and heading back into the house for a split second to grab your backpack.
Then, you stepped outside again, sending them a soft smile and showing them that you were ready. "See? I'm fine. Everything's fine."
"If you say so..." Billy commented uncertainly, narrowing his eyes at the others and not trusting them whatsoever.
"T-This...This ISN'T f-fair...!" Norman childishly disagreed, clenching his fists and twitching from his increasingly strong fury. "T-They...T-They don't DESERVE to s-spend more time w-with (Y/n)...! H-Hannibal...! Help me out h-here...!"
"(Y/n) requested full-on freedom and rights to make future life choices by herself once agreeing to live with us. Therefore, we can't terminate our so-called...hypothetical contract." Hannibal tactfully answered, speaking in a civilised fashion and handling the conflict with his usual care.
"O-Oh, come ON...!" Norman yelled at him, turning his attention over to Michael and deciding to get him involved as well. "M-Michael...! Y...YOU agree with me, r-right...? R-Right-!?"
The pale-faced killer stared silently at the ground, contemplating on how to answer. On one hand, he absolutely adored walking to the University with you, because it meant him being able to stay by your side and be as close to you as humanly possible. Plus, he also got to spend more time with you than the others. But then again, walking with you this morning meant he'd have to put up with those two "unwanted admirers", who he'd completely and utterly come to hate. And the most annoying thing was that he couldn't do anything about them either, because otherwise you'd grow upset with him and that was the last thing he wanted. So, even though he agreed with Norman, he had to follow through with Hannibal's words instead - giving a short shake of his head and gripping his kitchen knife from insatiable frustration.
"Y...You're K-KIDDING me...!" Norman miserably wailed, not expecting Michael to let you go so easily and comply with the others.
"As much as I hate that brat, I have to agree with him there." Pennywise brought up possessively, shifting over to his dark self as an unhinged grin danced across his facial features. "Why should they have all the fun? It's bad enough we all have to share. I mean, I don't even like any of you. Besides, those two mentally abused her a few days ago, any of you remember that...?"
"Oh please, DON'T act like you're 100% innocent either." Billy shot back in a fiery fashion, eyeing Pennywise down with dislike before throwing him under the bus too. "You treated (Y/n) even worse than we did, so don't even START."
"Billy, let's not start anything with them..." Stu awkwardly muttered, averting his eyes away from the other slashers and attempting to avoid any further conflict. "That's not what we came here for, now is it?"
"I guess not..." His friend grumbled sulkily, agreeing with what Stu was suggesting whilst also ignoring everyone else's stubborn attitude. "But still—"
"Let's just walk over the the University together." You sided with Stu in an anxious manner; feeling nervous about the chaotic conflict between Norman, Michael, Pennywise, and the two about to walk with you to the local building. "Can we...?"
"'Course we can...!" Stu agreed breezily, shrugging off the other slashers' as he shot you a carefree smile instead. "No problem."
"T-This...This is...ABSOLUTELY r-ridiculous...!" Norman frantically stated, stamping his foot and shaking his head from fury. "I-I...I WON'T allow it...! Sh-She's NOT allowed to...! I...I forbid it...!"
"Norman...Please don't do this..." You mumbled with a guilty expression, embarrassment flooding through your veins while you tried to pacify them all. "All I want is to just have a calm morning. Is that SO much to ask for...?"
"No. It's not." Stu took your side lovingly, sending you another soothing smile straight afterwards. "In fact, it's completely natural for someone like you to ask for such a humane request."
"Norman, that's enough." The intellectual psychiatrist icily told him off; raising his eyebrows at the complaining male and therefore scolding him. "Don't you think you're bothering (Y/n)? She's going to be late to her psychology class now, and it'll be all your fault, because it was your insensitivity that caused this conflict to stir in the first place."
"I-It's THEIR fault...n-not MINE...!" Norman denied irritably, gritting his teeth and twitching from uncontrollable rage. "B-Blame THEM...N-Not ME...!"
"Okay, okay...! Let's not play the blame game today." You feebly laughed, brushing off Norman's frustration and instead deciding to just head over to the university. "I-I don't have time...!"
"B-But...W-We...We're not f-finished...!" Norman dragged on dramatically, his hand grasping your wrist and preventing you from leaving.
"Look, I'll be back by this evening..." You patiently explained; your embarrassment growing exponentially whilst you avoided his hurt gaze. "So don't even worry 'bout it, 'Kay...?"
"Pay no attention to him, angelo mio." Hannibal calmly comforted you, breaking Norman's hold on you and moving him backwards. "Spend any more time with us however, and you really will be late to your psychology classes."
"That's a good point..." You trailed off timidly, wondering if Norman would even survive the rest of the afternoon. "I guess I'll catch you guys later...?"
"A presto, bellissima." Biding you farewell romantically, Hannibal wrapped his arms around your body and gave you a very gentle hug; the smartly-dressed slasher resting his head on top of yours as he carried on appreciating the moment. "Please take care of yourself today."
"I will, thank you." You reassured him warmly, hugging him in return before pulling away to leave. "You guys take care of yourselves too, won't you...?"
"Of course we will. Thank you very much for your consideration. You are far too kind to us." He complimented you with amusement, raising his hand as a wave while he watched you begin to walk away with the two "unwanted admirers".
Though unbeknownst to you, Hannibal darkly narrowed his eyes; shifting his focus towards Michael and Pennywise instead, the psychiatrist dipping straight back into his psychopathic state as he demanded their full-on attention. "You already know what I'm going to ask of you both."
"Yeah, you made it fairly obvious."
"YOᑌ ᕼᗩᐯE TᕼE ᔕᑌᗷTᒪETY Oᖴ ᗩ TᖇᗩIᑎ ᗯᖇEᑕK, ᒪEᑕTEᖇ. I ᑕOᑌᒪᗪ ᔕEE ᕼOᗯ YOᑌ ᖴEᒪT TᕼE ᗰOᗰEᑎT ᔕᕼE ᒪEᖴT TᕼE ᑭᖇEᗰIᔕEᔕ. IT ᗪOEᔕᑎ'T TᗩKE ᗩ GEᑎIᑌᔕ TO ᖴIGᑌᖇE OᑌT ᗯᕼᗩT YOᑌ ᗯᗩᑎT ᑌᔕ TO ᗪO. IᗪIOT." [A/N: "YOU HAVE THE SUBTLETY OF A TRAIN WRECK, LECTER. I COULD SEE HOW YOU FELT THE MOMENT SHE LEFT THE PREMISES. IT DOESN'T TAKE A GENIUS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU WANT US TO DO. IDIOT."]
"All I care about is her safety. So just keep an eye on those two. It's not sweet (Y/n) I don't trust, it's them. You understand me? Don't let anything happen to her today."