Sorry for the huge delay in updates. I should be getting back on track now. I will be posting 2-3 more chapters shortly after this to make up for the big delay. Hope you enjoy :)
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You were sitting in a beautiful meadow, packed with wildlife. Flowers of all kinds sprouted out from the ground, making the environment burst with color around you. Birds chirped serenely, and leaves rustled from the gentle breeze. You looked to your left. A family of deer stood, chowing on the bright green grass. A couple of squirrels chased each other, darting around wildly.
A flash of yellow passed through your vision. Turning your head to look in the direction it went, you saw a butterfly fluttering around. Just past it stood a lone silhouette that you couldn't make out. You stood up and moved towards it. The closer you got, the more prominent his features became. The figure had a lean, but muscular build. Black hair frame his face, and as he turned to look at you, the jagged forever smile that was carved on his face captured your eyes. Jeff.
You moved faster towards him. Your feet moved on their own, you didn't even think to rush to him. However, it seemed that the more you ran, the more distance was put in between you two. You glanced around to see the trees beyond the meadow in flames. The deer family was now lying limp on the ground, and the squirrels had started fighting viciously. You spotted a different figure off to your right. He was walking closer to you. The man stopped once he got close enough for you to see his face clearly. Matted brown hair adorned his head, and intense green eyes stared at you. There were bags under his eyes, which seemed to be oozing some weird, slimy liquid. The liquid started steaming, burning the face of the man whose eyes shed the acidic tears. The liquid dropped from his face, onto his clothes and the grass beneath his feet. Those, too, starting burning.
"Austin! You okay!" You called out, trying to move towards him. Only now, you couldn't move at all. You were stuck in place. You glanced back at where Jeff was standing. He was gone. Back to Austin. Gone. Everywhere around you was engulfed in flames. Silhouettes of unknown creatures showed through the flickering fire. The dangerous, heat-emitting element made its way to your feet. You felt the flames travel up your legs, embracing your body in its searing arms.
You started to scream.
Your eyes snapped open, and you gritted your teeth, taking in your surroundings. You were still where you were the previous night. It was just the same dream that had been showing up while you slept for a while now. This time, though, you could actually see two of the figures clearly. Speaking of those two figures...
They were still sleeping. You found that your head had been resting on Austin's shoulder all night, while he was slumped over a large pillow. You felt something heavy and warm in your lap. You looked down to find Jeff's head and neck resting in your lap. Your face became beet red, as you stared down at the sleeping boy.
Well, you thought he was sleeping, anyways.
"Am I so beautiful that you can't take your eyes off me?" Jeff smirked, his voice husky from sleeping.
You shook your head. "Don't be so full of yourself. I'm the real beauty here and you know it."
Jeff chuckled, not responding to that. He stared up at you.
"Well, since you're awake... Mind moving?" You asked.
It was Jeff's turn to shake his head. "I'm comfortable where I am."
"Jeff." Your tone sounded very unamused. "I am hungry. Don't make me push you off."
"Okay, okay. Relax, princess. Wasn't that comfortable anyway."
Jeff say up, stretching and looking out the window.
You gently moved away from Austin, trying not to wake him up. You failed.
Austin groggily yawned, opening his eyes halfway. He looked over at the clock, his eyes snapping wide open. "Fuck. It's almost time to leave." He hopped to his feet quickly, almost throwing himself forward, over the coffee table.
"I'll make pancakes." You offered, standing up as you grabbed Austin's shoulder to steady him.
Austin shook his head. "No, I can do it."
"Well, you don't have time to make anything. You need to take a shower and get that flour off of you before you go. You don't wanna show up looking like you fell asleep in a bakery, do ya? Plus, you stink." You said, looking at Austin's hair, which was peppered with many white patches.
"Fine. Don't burn the house down. Please." Austin joked, making his way to the stairs.
"No promises, my friend." You said, heading to the kitchen. Jeff followed, watching you ravage the cupboards for ingredients.
"You wanna help? Or are you just gonna stand there and watch?" You asked.
"Neither. I'm gonna sit here and watch." Jeff replied, sitting down on a chair.
You rolled your eyes. "Thanks. You're a great help."
"I know."
*10 minutes later*
"Jeff, give me the goddamn batter." You threatened, holding up a spatula.
"Come get it, if you want it so bad." Jeff said, holding the bowl high above his head.
You walked up to him and tried to grab the bowl. You were not tall enough to reach it.
"Jeff..." You warned. "Give it to me. I'm too short for this crap."
Jeff smirked. "I'm sorry to hear that."
You hit his chest with the spatula. "I need to make the pancakes."
"With what?"
"With the batter that you are so kindly holding for me."
Jeff sighed, putting the bowl on the counter. "Only 'cause you called me kind."
"I called your action kind. Not you." You laughed as you began making pancakes.
Austin walked in, his hair wet from the shower. He took a seat, and watched you pour some batter.
Your grip slipped and you dropped the bowl, causing an excessive amount of batter to spill. You cursed under your breath.
"Well, this is gonna be one big pancake." You said, picking the bowl up to save the batter that didn't spill.
Austin chuckled. "Have fun flipping that."
You stuck your middle finger up at him. "It's yours whether it flips or not."
Austin and Jeff started talking quietly, about who knows what, while you watched the pancake carefully. You were not going to mess this up. You were the pancake master, after all.
"Y'all ready for this?" You asked, making the males turn their attention towards you.
"Uh huh." Austin said, grinning.
You flipped the pancake up high, and positioned the spatula to catch it.
"(Y/n)! Don't fuck up!" Jeff shouted, trying to distract you.
You ignored him and caught the pancake on the spatula. "What now? I'm the best."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Austin chuckled.
You rolled your eyes and finished making pancakes, stacking them on a plate. You sat down with the two guys, and together, the three of you ate.
*time skip*
"Bye, Austin. I'll miss you." You said, hugging Austin tightly. "I wish you would let me come with you."
"I'll be back before you know it. You have Jeff here to keep you company." Austin said, returning your hug.
"I know." You said, pulling away from him. "Be safe."
"You too."
Austin gave a nod to Jeff, and Jeff returned it.
"I'll see you guys later."
With that, Austin took off, leaving you and Jeff standing in front of his house. Wolff sauntered alongside him, barking one last time at you before turning his attention to the road ahead of him.
You sighed and turned around, heading to the forest. Jeff walked by your side, looking deep in thought.
"You two got along. I'm surprised," you said.
"Well, we talked while you were cleaning yourself up. At first, it wasn't so friendly. But he isn't like the others. I didn't know that until now." Jeff shrugged.
"What do you mean? They are good people, as far as I know. How is he any different?"
"How much do you even know about them?" He asked, looking at you.
"I know that they are kinda like you and the other creepypastas, in terms of abilities, but they only kill those who deserve it." You said. "And you guys."
"Then Austin didn't tell you everything. Or he just doesn't know everything about them."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that the ones I've met aren't good people. They do kill who they see as bad, but it doesn't have to be a criminal, or someone who deserves it. It can be anyone that they don't like, or someone that doesn't agree with them. You upset them once and it's over. And they don't kill Creepypastas. They haven't once gone after me, or Slender, or any of the others. They can't. And they didn't use to call themselves Guardians. They changed after the got a new leader or something. We used to be on good terms before. But it was when their new leader arrived that they decided that we deserved to be treated with the same respect a pile of shit gets treated with. They aren't good people. Neither are we, but at least we admit it. And even we have our limits. Sorta. They don't. They'll do anything to get what they want. It's not just killing they do."
As Jeff explained this to you, the emotions exposed in his eyes kept switching. At one point, they held anger, the next, sadness. Then hatred, and then distress. Finally, nothing. They went back to normal, ominous-looking.
You thought about what he said for a moment, letting all the newfound information soak in. You wondered why Austin didn't tell you this. You were kind of angry and disappointed that he didn't. But then again, he hasn't been a part of that group for very long.
'I don't think he knows about that.' You thought. 'If he did, he wouldn't still be one of them. He's better than that. I hope he returns safely.'
"So what else did you two talk about? Other than what I heard."
"That is none of your business," Jeff smirked.
You pouted. "Please tell me. At least what you were talking about when I made pancakes?"
Jeff shook his head. "Nah, I think I'm good."
You pouted more. "Jeff..." You whined, slightly bumping into his side while the two of you walked through the lush forest.
"Another time."
You didn't say anything for a couple of minutes.
"Do you think Austin will be fine?"
"Do you love Austin?" Jeff countered, glancing at you before focusing back on the path ahead.
"What? No, he's my best friend. I mean, I love him that way, but not as like, something more than a friend." You responded, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"
"I was wondering. You seem to like him a lot. You talk a lot about him."
"I just asked if you thought he would be fine. It's not like I'm telling you every little detail about him."
Jeff shrugged, not bothering to answer.
The two of you fell into silence as you continued walking at a steady pace.
Before you knew it, you and Jeff arrived back at the house.
"Do you want to go killing tonight? Like we planned to do yesterday?" You asked Jeff in attempt to spark a new conversation.
Jeff didn't answer as he threw himself onto the couch, in between the two Jacks, who were watching Sally play.
He seemed to be deep in thought.
You strolled up to him and waved your hand in front of his face.
"Helloooo, earth to Jeff, you in there?"
Jeff's eyes focused on you, his face scrunching up slightly in confusion.
"Huh?" He grunted.
You sighed. "I asked if you wanted to go killing tonight, since we didn't last night."
"Yeah, sure." Jeff responded dismissively, ending the conversation.
You stared at Jeff's blank face for a few moments before walking away irritably. Why he was all of a sudden being distant, you had no clue.
You trudged into the kitchen, where Masky and Hoodie were hanging out and eating. You joined them, sitting down on a chair with a huff.
"What's wrong?" Masky asked.
"Nothing. Can I have some?" You made a motion towards the cheesecake sitting in front of him.
"...."
You were met with silence. Masky simply stated at you from behind his white mask.
"Please?"
"Just this once." He muttered, pushing the slightly plate towards you.
You returned his gesture with a wide smile. "Thank you. You're the best, ya know that?"
Masky hummed in response.
As you took a bite of the cheesecake, you caught Masky still staring at you.
"Don't take it personally, whatever it is that Jeff did."
"Ummm..."
Masky stood up and left you to the cheesecake. Hoodie followed suit, nodding his head at you briefly.
Jeff didn't necessarily do anything that wrong. All that was bothering you was how distant he turned in a matter of moments as the two of you were returning home.
You, eating the slice of tasty dessert sitting in front of you, were left alone to ponder over Masky's words, along with everything else that was on your mind.