His breath swirled in front of him like smoke from the mouth of an idle dragon, visible in the cold air of the December afternoon. They'd had a fairly mild winter so far, but the temperatures had dropped drastically in the past two weeks and a crisp blanket of snow covered the ground. The white forest seemed so peaceful in comparison to the havoc that seemed to trail behind him. Once he'd met her, he'd felt as if the havoc that encompassed him had significantly dissipated. When she'd been taken from him, he'd been left alone to face his inner demons alone.
"Are you alright?"
A faint smile found it's way onto the boy's face and her dropped his arm around the girl's shoulder, pulling her close and drinking in her warmth. Her delicate shoulders were hunched against the cold wind and newly fallen snow had begun to collect on the top of her head. The boy couldn't hold back a grin. He pulled off his hat and gently covered the girl's (y/h/c) hair.
When he'd gotten her back, he'd felt a new sense of purpose. He'd decided to dedicate himself to protecting her. His every second, every breath was hers.
"I'm fine," the boy smiled.
"Are you sure? You've got that 'I'm a tortured adolescent' look."
"I do not," he snorted.
"You do too, but it's kind of cute," she smirked.
"Did you just flirt with me using an insult?"
"I wouldn't call it an insult. I said it was cute, didn't I?"
The boy just rolled his eyes and kissed the girl's forehead. She blushed and he grinned. Even though they were engaged now, he still felt like they were little kids who weren't sure how to act around each other. He found this utterly adorable. He pulled her hand from her pocket and entwined his fingers with hers, running this thumb over her engagement ring.
"So kawaii!" The boy's best friend squealed from behind them.
"BEN, you totally just ruined the moment," the boy sighed.
"There will be more," the girl shrugged with a laugh.
"Ew," a pale boy chimed in. "Gross (Y/N)."
"Oh shut up," (Y/N) growled.
"Great, first BEN ruins our moment and then Jeff makes sex jokes. Thanks guys."
"No problem," BEN and Jeff say in unison.
"And who said I was making sexual references?" Jeff snorted. "Very presumptuous of you, Toby. Did (Y/N) know about these fantasies of yours?"
"All about them," Toby snorted.
"Don't encourage him!" (Y/N) yelped and slapped Toby's arm lightly.
"Okay, that's disgusting," a monochrome girl shuddered. "I don't think I'm hungry anymore."
"You better eat, Jane!" (Y/N) warned. "You know how long it took me to make all that food."
"Let's just hope we can suffer through until desert. Masky made it," Jane smirked.
"Hey, I make totally edible food!" (Y/N) pouted.
"That's only half of cooking, dude," BEN pointed out.
"You're going to shut up and eat it and you're gonna be freaking pleased about it," (Y/N) glared.
"Such hostility," a boy in a blue mask laughed. "I'm sure it's not that bad."
"I don't know, EJ," Toby squirmed. "You've never had her cooking before."
"You're all awful," (Y/N) sighed and turned to Toby, squeezing his hand. "You're stuck with it anyway."
"Never too late to change my mind," Toby shrugged playfully.
"Then I'm keeping the ring."
"I want a refund," Toby frowned.
"Pay up, BEN," Jeff smirked. "I was right."
"What are you talking about?" Toby sighed.
"Jeff bet twenty bucks that you two would call off the wedding," BEN grinned. "I took him up on it because I have full faith in my OTP."
"What is wrong with you people?" (Y/N) sighed and buried her face in Toby's shoulder.
"The same thing that's wrong with you," Toby chuckled.
"Are we gonna eat (Y/N)'s awful food or not?" A boy in a white mask with black features called from the door leading to the kitchen. Every one in the backyard filed through the door, but when (Y/N) turned to follow, Toby's grip on her hand tightened.
"Toby?" She called in a worried voice.
"Are you still having those dreams?"
The girl was taken aback. For the past two weeks since it happened, she'd been having the same reoccurring dream. She had shrugged it off as a side effect of being legally dead for a few hours, but when she'd told Toby about it, it seemed to bother him.
"You know I am," she replied quietly, studying her tracks in the snow intently. She felt Toby's grip tighten again.
"Toby, I'm sure it doesn't mean anything. It's just a dream."
"Don't you think it could be connected to... you know...," Toby's quiet voice trailed off and he stared into the snow covered forest.
"Does it really bother you that bad?"
"Wouldn't you be bothered if you were in my place?" Toby's voice sounded broken and weak, almost defeated.
"Toby," (Y/N) called firmly and his eyes slowly wandered to meet hers.
"I love you more than anything and anyone. I would give my life for you, you know I would. You've seen it. Do you really think I would have sacrificed myself for you if I wasn't positive about how I felt about you?"
"Yes," Toby whispered. "That's who you are. You'd give your life to protect a stranger if you had to."
"But you aren't a stranger."
Toby looked up from his feet and met her eyes, holding her fiery gaze. He knew what she meant and he believed every word she'd said, but he couldn't help but worry. He knew that there had to be someone better for her out there and it was only a matter of time until they showed up and took his only true happiness. He wanted to believe that her dream was nothing more than just that, but he couldn't help feeling uneasy.
"I-," Toby began, but his words were cut off by a kiss. (Y/N) leaned onto the tips of her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. After a few moments, he leaned in and wrapped his arms around her waist, tugging her so close that he could feel the heat of her body through both of their coats. When she broke away, she smiled up at him. He smiled back and buried his face in her shoulder, taking a deep breath.
"I love you," he whispered.
"I love you too," she whispered back. They stayed intertwined for a few moments longer before a voice made them jump apart.
"Food's getting cold," BEN called from the doorway.
"What is with you and ruining our moments?" Toby sighed, taking (Y/N) hand again, this time with more confidence.
"It's fun," BEN shrugged and wandered back into the kitchen where roars of laughter could be heard.
Without speaking another word, Toby and (Y/N) grinned at each other. Hand in hand, they followed after their friend with a new strength guiding their hearts. In that moment, they felt invincible. At the time, they never thought that feeling would be tested.
Tada! That's the end guys! Writing this story was so much fun and I've never felt more pleased with my work than how I've felt writing this, which has been totally because of you guys. If it weren't for all your support, I would have given up on this story. Thank you all so much for your read, votes, and comments! I love you guys so much and I really hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it!
If you really like this story and you're as sad to see it end as I am, fear not! I will be releasing the first chapter of the sequel on Friday, January 15th, (If you happen to be reading this book from the future after January 15, 2016, they you ain't got to wait, woot woot. Gold star for future peeps.) so get hella hyped for that. The chapter is already half done and I really think you guys are gonna like it!
In addition to the sequel to this story, I'm also thinking about finally writing that other Creepypasta x Reader story that I promised y'all, like, forever ago. I've been keeping an eye on comments and that poll I left at the end of Chapter 7 (I think?) and I'm pretty sure who I'll be doing next, so keep an eye out for that as well!
As always, thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed this story, leave a vote or a comment letting me know what you thought! Thanks again for sticking with this story until the end and I shall see all you guys in the next book!