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3. A Place To Stay

(F/WD) ~ Favorite Warm Drink

(F/TV) ~ Favorite TV Show

(F/C) ~ Favorite Color

Tws ~ Mentions of child abuse, mentions of murder/violence

        "How did you get here so fast?" You asked Rosemary quietly as she guided you through the confusing forest like she knew it from the back of her hand.

"It's a... long story. Probably less insane then the one I'm going to tell you though." Rosemary replied casually, loosening her grip on your hand. "Okay, we're here." She said, pulling you out of the forest and onto a well maintained lawn. "This is my house, make yourself right at home dear." She informed you, walking through the backyard and onto the back porch. She opened the sliding glass door, and the two of you slipped inside the house. It was very homey on the inside, the walls covered in photos of Rose, Jaskier, and three other people you didn't recognize. "Must be her family." You reasoned, sitting down on the comfortable couch. You put your bag on the floor by your feet. "Can I get you something?" She asked, smiling kindly.

"Oh, do you have (F/WD)?" You asked meekly. She nodded, turning on her heel and walking into the kitchen.

"So, do you mind telling me exactly what happened?" She asked, preparing the drink you wanted. You sighed, knowing she would ask.

"Do you want me to start at what happened with the girl or what happened at my home?" You asked, wanting her to clarify what exactly she wanted.

"Start with what happened at home, it'll help me gauge more of the situation and why you might have acted in certain ways." Rosemary answered, making herself some chamomile tea. 

"Well, back at home my parents always fought. They constantly blamed me for their failing marriage, too. They used to uh, beat me and stuff. It was particularly bad the night you found me." You explained, tears building up in your eyes. You did some deep breathing before you continued. "I assume my mom found out my dad slept with yet another woman, and they had a huge argument. After a while my mom started trying to get into my room, and in fear I just... packed as much as I needed and ran." You said. Rosemary came back into the living room, handing you your cup of (FWD). She sat across from you in the love seat. "After you gave me that money I went to the hotel you pointed me to. I woke up this morning, bought myself these clothes," You said, gesturing to the clothes you were wearing. "And went to school like normal. After school I was kind of hungry, so I went to this café - the Cup of Mocha one. I was doing my homework when Courtnee, the girl, came up to me shoving her phone in my face, recording me. She made fun of me for being a "nerd" and "gay". I got really angry, more angry than I usually would've, and broke her phone. She started fighting me, and had me under her while she choked me. Her friends couldn't pry her of so I..." You paused again, your head tilted downwards dejectedly. 

"It's okay, take your time sweetheart." Rosemary said calmingly. You did some more deep breathing, but it seemed to be working less and less. You were about to start talking again when you heard footsteps coming from the stairs behind you. You snapped your head around, frightened. You noticed the person was one of the people in the many family photos hanging up.

"Mom..?" The guy said, looking between you and Rosemary confused. The guy had black dreadlocks, and wore a red t-shirt with black pants.

"Sorry, Jeremy. There was an emergency - do you need something sweetheart?" Rosemary asked the boy, who you know now is Jeremy.

"Oh, I just heard someone I didn't recognize talking so I came to check it out. Sorry to intrude, uh-" Jeremy apologized, obviously waiting for either you or his mother to say your name.

"(Y/N), my name is (Y/N)." You informed him, trying to give a polite smile. 

"(Y/N). Cool name, it fits you." He said, turning around and making his way back upstairs. Rosemary turned her attention back onto you.

"Sorry about that, I should've told you that my kids and husband are home." Rosemary apologized. You shook your hands in a dismissive manner.

"It's fine, Rosemary." You replied before taking a sip of your drink. It helped make you feel a little better.

"Please, call me Rose. You can continue now, if you'd like. I understand if you'd rather not." Rose hummed.

"I don't think I can.. plus you probably get what happened next anyways." You responded, running your fingers through your hair.

"Alright. Well, I'm not quite sure how to explain this but," Rose started, changing the topic of conversation. "I told you on the way here that although you couldn't stay in my home, I did know a place you could stay. Before I can bring you there, I must explain what the place is and the people it houses." Rose stated, peaking your interest. "This may all sound crazy, I'm well aware, but I have proof to back this all up. I'm sure you're aware of the internet legends called creepypastas?" Rose asked, and you nodded in reply, your mind already coming up with insane possibilities.

"Yeah, I've been in the fandom since I was a kid... what do they have to do with anything?" You questioned.

"Well, if that's the case you probably know of the slendermansion. I feel dumb saying this aloud but-" she sighed heavily, "it's a real place, and it's the place I have lined up for you. It may seem scary going to live with a bunch of serial killers, but I promise you won't get hurt. They'll be able to pretty much change your criminal history, putting it off as it's own creepypasta. It'll still be dangerous to go out in public though, since there are witnesses. It'll take a few months or even a few years for this whole thing to blow over." Rose explained. You were confused, not believing her words. This had to be some kind of joke - the creepypasta weren't real. If this was all real, the thought of having to live with them for possibly years seemed kind of undesirable. You only knew the fictional side of them, they could be worse than the fandom thinks.

"What? Will I be able to leave the mansion at all?" You asked, going along with her insane idea. She said she had proof they existed, and she didn't seem like that insane of a person, so you'd go along for now. 

"Yes, of course! You'll have to be disguised during the day, but you don't have to at night. Someone will have to come with you, though, for safety reasons concerning both you and the mansion as a whole. Also I feel it's a good time to mention that Slenderman is willing to sort of employ you, I guess. He'll pay you for helping him sort files and get them out to the creepypastas. He's willing to pay handsomely, so personally I think you should take the job. It's up to you at the end of the day though." Rose explained. You nodded, showing you understanded.

"Will I be assigned, like uh, a partner of sorts I guess? Like a certain person I have to stay around?" You asked.

"You wont be assigned one, but I recommend finding someone to stay by. The girls and maybe E.J would be your best bet. Toby might work too, but he tends to run off and not stay in one place long, so he may not be the best protector. The girls are the friendliest, most sane people there. They're fierce too, Jane is very willing to fight one of the others if she feels the need to do so." Rose answered, taking a drink of her tea. "I'm sorry if my explanation wasn't that good, they'll be able to explain better and answer any details." Rose apologized, placing her tea cup on the coffee table.  

"It's fine, Rose. This is just all kind of unreal." You sighed.

"I get it. It's hard to believe stuff like them is real before you see it with your own eyes." Rose smiled, and you felt something climbing up your leg, You jumped and glanced down at your legs. Rose vines had broken grown rapidly from a near-by house plant, and were gently wrapping around your leg. The vines had no thorns, and weren't hurting you at all. You stared in shock as the vine extended towards you, the singular rose bud at the top flowering into a beautiful ruby red. "I suppose I should tell you why I even have connections there anyways." Rose laughed gently as the vine suddenly jolted and snapped in half, leaving a rose in your lap. The vines slithered backwards, receding back into the plant pot where they originated. You stared at rose dumbfounded.

"What, what was that?" You asked exasperatedly, causing Rose to laugh.

"I can cause roses to grow out of any near-by dirt, or my own body if needed." Rose grinned. She removed her glove, showing off some more by making a rose bloom out of her palm. You watched in awe as she did so. "I was scouted by Slenderman when I was younger, but I didn't take his offer. We stayed in contact though, that's how I was able to set this up for you." She explained some more, the rose in her hand wilting to a fine dust. "I know this is a lot to take in in such a short amount of time, and I'm sorry about that. We'll be on our way to the mansion tomorrow, you can stay here tonight. Tonight only, though, I've had to put up enough of my child's shenanigans putting us in legal danger, I know you understand." Rose told you, slipping her glove back on.

"Can I ask a question?" You asked her.

"Ask as many as you need, dear." She replied, standing up. She took your empty cup from your hands.

"Is your entire family, uhh, anomalous like you?" You asked, hoping that anomalous was the right word to use.

"Jaskier doesn't have powers like mine, but flowers do grow from his body. That's normal where we come from. I used to have a rose growing from my eye actually, but it ended up almost killing me due to it's proximity to my brain." Rose told you as she washed both cups in the sink. "Nova<4/m{}, my child, has minor plant manipulation powers. Same with Jeremy, but his are weaker." She said, her language switching after she said the word "Nova". It was a language you had never heard before. "My husband, Apex, doesn't have any particular powers. He's a bit stronger than humans, I suppose. It makes sense though, he's a trained operative." Rose walked back over to you, leaning on the side of the couch as she continued. "Oh, I almost forgot! We're shapeshifters, too. It's a long, confusing story but basically we were all killed and resurrected by the same minor god." Rose said casually, as if it wasn't a big deal. "The god needed us, or more correctly our souls, to help save her dying children. She gave us immortality and life as thanks. Honestly it was a bigger win than anything, I never thought I'd be able to get pregnant, being transfem and all, but with the shapeshifting me and Apex could fully transition like we couldn't before - we could fully change our biology!" Rose exclaimed happily, a big smile on her face. 

"I'm happy for you," You smiled at her. This was all hard to wrap your head around, but from what she said it seemed her husband had to go through the same, if not a similar, learning curve. Then you realized that the creepypastas, at least some of then, had to figure out how to deal with this information too. That made you feel a little bit better. You looked over at the clock, realizing just how late it had gotten. It was already almost 7 at night, which surprised you. You really didn't feel like it had been that long. You suddenly realized just how tired you felt from all the running, stress, and crying. Rose noticed your sudden change in demeanor, grabbing your bag.

"Here, let me show you to the guest room." Rose said. You stood up, following her up the stairs. She opened the second door on the left of the hallway, walking into the room. It was a decently sized room with a double bed in the middle of the back wall. There was a nice mahogany desk next to it, and a closet on the left wall. There was a TV hung up on the wall with a bureau underneath it. On the left side of the desk there was a night stand with a lamp you turned on by touching it. Rose set the bag down next to the bureau, standing to the side to let you fully enter. "Before we leave tomorrow, I was thinking of going shopping. I doubt you have many clothes or things in that bag. We'll just have to be very careful, but I think you could get away with it since they won't make the killing public for a little while." Rose suggested, gesturing to your bag.

"I'd like that, but I don't have much money left. I'd feel bad using yours." You confessed, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"It's fine sweetheart, I want you to. It'd make me happy to know my money is being spent on someone who needs it. Plus, I probably spend more on my dresses than you'd spend in an entire day of spending." Rose noted, leaning against the doorframe. You smiled weakly.

"Alright, then. Thank you for everything, Rose." You thanked, rubbing the back of your neck.

"Your very welcome, now change in get some sleep. There should be some clothes in the closet for you to change into. The bathroom is the door right across from this one." Rose told you, closing the door behind her as she left. You got up, walking over to the closet. Opening it, you saw an array of different clothes. There were many different articles, and you assumed they probably put clothes that didn't fit, or they didn't wear, into the closet for their guests. You grabbed a pair of periwinkle satin pants and a white tank top. You walked over to the bureau, opening the drawers to find some undergarments. The middle drawer had what you were looking for, luckily still packaged. You opened the package, grabbing out what you needed. You closed the drawer, walking over to the door. You walked out of the room, and into the bathroom across the hall. The bathroom was something you'd only ever seen in movies or on Pinterest - it was large. It had two sinks, a large mirror, and an open shower that came down from the ceiling. "They must have had someone make this for them after buying the house, no way did a house like this come with such a cool bathroom." You thought, setting your things on the counter. You turned the shower on, letting the water warm up as you undressed yourself. You took a pretty long shower, getting lost in thought as you cleaned the filth off of your body. 

"So much has happened recently, it seems unreal. Hopefully things will get better, they have to, right? Plus, I should be excited, I'm meeting fictional characters I've loved for years!" You thought optimistically, turning off the shower. You stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around you. You looked around some more, finding some more stuff that the family kept for guests. You brushed your hair, put on some deodorant, and changed into the clothes you had picked out. The pants were a bit long, but it didn't bother you much. You exited the bathroom, going back to the guest room. You looked around for the TV remote, finding a Roku remote on the bed. You turned the TV on, checking to see what services the family paid for. After scrolling through the different options for a bit, you decided to watch (F/TV). You put the remote down on the night stand, and opened your bag. You took out your phone, laptop and their respective chargers. You plugged them in and decided to play around on your phone for a little while. You got under the covers on the bed, scrolling through your feed on the different social medias you had. After a while you put your phone down, focusing entirely on the TV. After a little while, you fell asleep. You dreamt of many different, nonsensical things that you didn't remember the next day.

You woke up to the sound of knocking on your door. You sat upright, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes. "I'm awake." You called, informing the person at the door that they had succeeded in what they wanted to do.

"Good morning, my mom wanted me to tell you that breakfast is ready!" The other person called back before walking away from the door. You scooted over to the edge of the bed, standing up and stretching. You felt well-rested for once in your life, which was nice. You checked the battery of your phone, seeing it was completely charged. You unplugged it, checking your notifications quickly. Nothing particular caught your eye, so you set your phone back down and left the bedroom. You walked down the stairs, and into the kitchen. Rose was putting plates with sunny-side up eggs and pancakes down at the respective places. There was already a plate with lots of bacon on it, and another one with a few slices of toast with the tub of butter next to it. Apex, or who you assumed to be so, sat at the head of the table. He has mid-length straight black hair, and pale skin. His teeth looked sharper than the average person's. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt and flannel night pants. Jeremy, who was wearing the same thing as the last time you saw him weirdly, and his sibling sat next to one another, bickering over something stupid. His sibling had short, straight hair the same color as their mom's. They were wearing a long sleeved black shirt with sweatpants. You quietly sat down across from Jeremy, who noticed your arrival.

"Good morning, (Y/N)!" Jeremy greeted you, smiling widely.

"Oh, hey! I'm Nova." His sibling greeted you, waving. They then turned, shoving their brother.

"Hey!" Jeremy yelped, immediately trying to retaliate against her.

"Stop fighting, we have a guest with us!" Apex scolded the two. They stopped, still glaring at each other. Rose sat down across the table from Apex, and the family started eating. You grabbed two pieces of bacon and a slice of toast, putting them on your plate. You began to eat silently, watching the family talk. You were glad you decided to grab the toast and bacon first, as Jeremy seemed to inhale all the food that wasn't being eaten by someone else. Nova ate slower, taking time in-between bites to chat with their mother and father. You found out she was in her 20s, and went to a near-by college. You also found out that Jeremy, like you, was a senior and that Apex was the CEO of a big company. Lots of names of people you didn't recognize were thrown around in the conversation, and they all talked about things you didn't really know about. 

"Well you can take that up with Yukizome later, since I assume you're probably going shopping with me and (Y/N)." Rose replied to something Nova said casually. You perked up at the mention of your name, looking up from your almost-empty plate to see what they were talking about. 

"Hell yeah I'll go! I need to show (Y/N) all the good clothing stores." Nova grinned, looking over at you. "What kind of clothes do you like to wear, like what's your specific aesthetic if you have one?" Nova asked. Before you had the chance to respond, they quickly asked, "Wait do you have Pinterest? If so, do you have clothing pins?"

"Yeah, I do!" You responded, smiling. It felt nice to be included in the conversation. This whole breakfast thing made you happy, in honesty, even if you were left out for a little bit. It made you feel like you had a normal family for the first time in, well, ever. You had to take a second to remind yourself this was your last day with the family. 

"Good, we can look through them after breakfast! We can also talk about our interests and stuff, I bet we'll have a few things in common! It's nice to have someone close to my age I can talk with, other than this little shithead." Nova confided, playfully elbowing their brother. You nodded along, laughing at their brothers reaction to being suddenly harassed. You and Nova continued to talk during breakfast, and the two of you hung out in her room after. They actually had a lot in common with you, and are very funny. You two bonded for a few hours, before Rose opened the door.

"We're gonna head out soon, so get ready you two." She told you both simply, before closing the door. Nova rolled off of her bed, giggling at the joke you had made before Rose came in.

"I know a perfect store for the type of clothes you like, I'm super excited to show you!" They exclaimed, walking over to their closet.

"I'm excited to see where this store even is, I've lived here my whole life and don't even know what it is!" You replied back before leaving the room. You speed-walked over to the guest room, closing the door behind you as you entered. You made your way over to the closet, picking out an outfit to wear while you went shopping. You wanted to wear something simple, so you grabbed a (F/C) hoodie and a pair of jeans that looked like they'd fit you. You grabbed a new pair of undergarments and socks from the bureau, quickly changing into the clothing. You grabbed your charging laptop, putting it back into your bag with your phone. You grabbed the clothes you slept in, putting them in the dirty clothes basket in the bathroom. Grabbing your bag, you walked back to Nova's room, knocking on the door. They opened it, letting you in. They were now wearing a tight black dress that fell to their mid-thigh with a pair of black tights and black boots. "I like the fit!" You complimented, and Nova giggled.

"Thank you! You look good too!" Nova smiled, sitting down in her desk chair. "Hey, wait, do you want my number? You're really cool, and I'm not sure how often you'll be able to visit us." Nova asked.

"I'd like that, thanks!" You replied, sitting down on her bed. You pulled out your phone from your bag, opening your contacts.

"Of course! Okay so my number is ███-███-███." Nova told you, reciting the numbers with a pause in-between each one to make sure you could put it in without mistakes. You put her name in her contact, gave it a funny profile image, and saved it to your phone.

"Here, let me text you so we know I got it right." You said, texting Nova a simple "hi". Her phone buzzed, confirming that all the info was right. Nova grabbed her phone, unlocking it. She typed something and after a few seconds your phone buzzed and you looked down at it. She sent you a shitty discord moderator copypasta, which made you laugh.

"POV: Jeremy." She giggled out, making the both of you laugh. You heard the door open, and looked over to see Rose in the doorway again. She was wearing a white button-up shirt, a black skirt, and black heels. 

"You guys ready to go?"

--

*for clarification rq because i feel like it wasn't mentioned as much as i should've mentioned it: (y/n) is being very careful in public, and it isn't that much of a problem right now because the general public is unaware of the killing*

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2. First Day Free

(F/FF) ~ Favorite Fast Food Place

(F/MI) ~ Favorite Menu Item

(F/C) ~ Favorite Kind of Coffee

TWs  ~ Mentions of child abuse, implied alcoholism, descriptions of violence and murder, some homophobia

        You yawned, turning off the alarm on your phone. Stretching your arms over your head, memories of what had happened rushed back into your mind. You sighed, moving to the edge of the bed. You realized you hadn't packed any extra clothes and groaned loudly. You had to go to school, but it wasn't like you could go in the grimy clothes you wore yesterday. "I'll just pick up some cheap clothes at a store before I go to school, and change into them in the store's bathroom and put these clothes in my backpack." You plotted, zipping your backpack back up. You stalked into the bathroom, cleaning yourself up. You took a quick shower and brushed your teeth and hair. Once freshened up, you walked back into the bedroom and unplugged your phone. It was 7:16, and school starts at 8:00. You had time to go grab clothes, and hopefully grab something to eat at McDonalds or something. The hotel took what was almost all of the money you got from Rosemary for a three day stay, but luckily you had taken a good amount of our own cash with you. You made sure you had everything you needed on you, and exited the hotel room. You shut and locked the door, double checking it wouldn't open. Once you were sure, you began walking down the hallway towards the elevator. The hotel was relatively silent, the only noise you could hear was the muffled sounds of TVs.

You made it to the elevator, and pressed the button for the first floor. The metal doors closed, and some classy music started playing from the elevator speakers. You stared blankly at the wall, trying to get a hold on your thoughts and think about what you should do. "Well guess I'm on my own now. I suppose this is better than being abused." You thought with a sigh. You sat in the elevator for a bit longer before the doors opened once again. You stepped out into the lobby, waving a polite greeting over at the desk worker, who was different than yesterdays. You exited the hotel, looking around. This area wasn't completely new for you, and you knew where some places were. You never came here often enough to know the layout of the town though. You pulled out your phone, looking up directions for the nearest Walmart. You started walking the way your phone instructed you, taking in the scenery. It was chilly, and the sun hadn't fully risen above the horizon yet. However the plant life did seem a bit more lively than usual, hinting at the closeness of spring. You were excited to finally get school over and done with. You were worried that since your future was so uncertain, something may happen to prevent you from going. Having to drop out so late in the year would suck, especially since you were on the track to get a good scholarship at a nice collage. You weren't really sure what you would do after collage though, you never really planned out your life. "On the topic of work, I need to get a job. I can't live off of what I have now for long." You noted in your head, walking into the Walmart.

You bee-lined for the clothing section, quickly scanning over your options. You found a nice, relatively cheap, long-sleeved black shirt that you thought would go nice under a baggy t-shirt. Layering clothes would help keep you warm throughout the day without the need to buy an expensive jacket. Most of the jackets were around 30 to 50 dollars, and you couldn't spend that kind of money on just one article of clothing. You looked around at the t-shirts, grabbing a baggy seaweed colored one. You finished off the outfit with a pair of baggy black pants. Overall the outfit was around 65 dollars, which was a good price all things considered. You made your way to the self checkout, quickly scanning and paying for the clothes. You took your phone out of your pocket, looking at the time. It was 7:40, meaning you only had 20 minutes to change and get to school. You dashed over to the bathrooms in the store, locking yourself in a stall so you could quickly change. Removing the old clothes you had on, you changed into the new clothes. You cut the tags off with your switchblade, gathering them in your hand. You opened the stall, walking over to the trash can. You dumped the, now cut off, tags into it and looked yourself over in the mirror. You looked relatively presentable, which was good. You grabbed your bag, making your way back out of the store. Your school was around 1.5 miles away, meaning if you dashed for it you could make it there in time, and still have some time to grab the stuff you need. 

With that thought, you began running in the direction your school was, with a bit more help from your phone. You immediately regretted this, as your feet started hurting again. You pushed through the pain, your steps rhythmically hitting the pavement beneath you as you traversed through town. After about 15 minutes you made it to the school, and your chest burned. You had 5 minutes to go to your locker and head to class. You weaved around people in the hallways, quickly making it to your locker. You opened your bag, setting it on the floor in front of you. You put in your locker combination, opening your locker. You grabbed onto the various notebooks and textbooks you needed, holding them tightly in one arm. You reached down, grabbing out your dirty clothes and put them inside your now-empty locker. Placing the notebooks and textbooks you were holding into your bag, you took a second to run through your schedule today. You had Civics first, then Language, Science, Gym, Lunch, Math, and finally Art. You couldn't wait for lunch, not having breakfast was already taking an affect on you. You slammed your locker shut, quietly making your way to Homeroom. You walked into the room right as the bell rang, and made your way to your assigned seat. The announcements started playing as your homeroom teacher, who was also the Science teacher, took attendance. Homeroom was pretty short, only lasting 15 minutes before you had to go to Civics.

The day went by relatively quickly, and before you knew it, it was time to go home. Or, well, time to go back to the hotel. You opened your locker, putting your unneeded books back into it. You took out your dirty clothes, shoving them into your bag quickly before anyone could see. You zipped up your bag, and began walking to the front entrance of the school. You kept your head tilted downwards to avoid making unwanted eye contact with anyone, specifically the popular people. They trash talked anyone and everyone, even one another. They were all unbelievably toxic and selfish. You realized you were close to the exit, and the thought of being out of school sent a wave of serotonin rushing through you. You didn't hate school, it was just hard to be inside and sitting all day. You ran your fingers through your hair, walking out of the school. You were a bit hungry, so you decided to stop by a local café and get something to eat. You knew there was one nearby that you went to sometimes, it was a quiet, cozy place that was good to do work at. You just had to head to the hotel to grab your laptop first. You leisurely made your way back to the hotel, your mind filled with thoughts. You needed to find a job, and fast. You didn't know how long you would need to support yourself for. You also had to get some stuff from your room somehow, maybe you could sneak back in through a window. Your parents usually left a window or two unlocked when they passed out drunk, you just hoped they hadn't sold your stuff yet. You wouldn't put it against them to do so. You just needed some clothes, your hygiene products, and your drawing stuff. 

You entered your hotel room, placing your bag down on the floor. You opened it, removing the clothes. You placed the clothing on the small wooden desk in the corner, taking your laptop into your hands. You unplugged it from the wall, and put it in your bag with your school books. You zipped the bag back up, making sure you had your wallet, and left the room. You made it back outside the hotel, and started walking towards the café. You preplanned what you were going to order, calculating the cost in your head. You could pick up a croissant and a coffee, and still have some money to spend on getting dinner. You could order something cheap from (F/FF) for dinner, or you could pick up a cheap thing of ramen at the store. Ramen would be cheaper, but you were craving (F/MI). "I'll just decide later, I have more important things to focus on anyways," You thought, walking into the café. There weren't many people inside, and those who were inside were quietly drinking their coffee as they worked. You walked up to the counter, greeting the worker in a happy voice.

"Hello, welcome to Cup of Mocha Café! What can I get you today?" The worker asked, smiling politely. 

"Hi, could I get a croissant and a (F/C)?" You ordered your food, feeling the most relaxed than you've ever felt since you ran away. It was nice.

"Alright! That'll be 15 dollars." The woman informed you. You opened up your wallet, grabbing a ten and a five to hand to the woman. "Thank you. Your order will be ready soon." She stated, putting the cash into the register. You nodded, and turned to look at the available seating options. There was a table with a comfortable-looking seat in front of the front window. You walked over and sat down, taking your books and laptop out of the bag. You placed them on the table, and began your homework for the night. After a few minutes you got your food, and you made sure you savored the freshly baked pastry. You were in the café for about an hour before a loud group of four came in. You glanced up at them, glaring. It didn't take you long to identify who the people in the group were. It was some of the popular girls, and one of the many boys they dragged around with them. The three girls all had multiple boyfriends who were too desperate for popularity to leave them. You scoffed in annoyance as the girls loudly ordered half of the stuff on the menu, before going over to a booth nearby. You put your volume up higher, trying to get yourself refocused on your work. You were writing a short freeform story for Language. Just as you were able to focus back on word and get back into a flow, you saw someone approach you from your peripheral vision. You sighed, taking out one of your earbuds. 

"Do you need something?" You seethed out at the girl. She was holding up her phone at you, and you immediately knew something bad was going to happen. "Why does something just HAVE to happen when I feel relaxed?" You internally complained, squinting your eyes angrily at her.

"Oh, nothing! Just documenting a gay freak in it's natural habitat!" The girl laughed, causing the others watching from their table to do the same.

"Fuck off, bitch. At least I'm trying to make it somewhere in life other than a shitty studio apartment with an abusive boyfriend that I can't leave because I don't have a job and no rich man wants me because I peaked in high school." You grunted bluntly. The girl's face contorted in anger at your response, she probably didn't know you would argue back. Normally you wouldn't, and just take the abuse like you did with your parents, but you were too stressed and annoyed to take her shit.

"I'm recording this you know, I could get you in trouble for bullying for saying that!" The girl sneered, thinking she had the high ground. You rolled your eyes, feeling your anger rising in you. In a fit of rage, you snatched her phone from her and slammed it as hard as you could on the café ground. She gasped, looking down at her cracked phone. "Why the hell did you do that!" She gasped, reaching down to grab her phone. As soon as she had her hand on it, you stomped down on her hand and phone. She yelled out, jumping back from you as you continued to stomp her phone down. She looked down in shock, the other people she was with looking just as shocked. You knew that you had attention drawn on you, but you didn't really care at this point.

"Whoops, sorry." You said monotonously, going back to your work. The girl shrieked in anger, grabbing onto you and forcing you out of your seat. You immediately tried fighting back as she slammed you against the table, trying to hit you. She tugged harshly at your hair, and you felt tears well in your eyes at the sharp pain. You hit her back, tugging on her hair even harder than she did to you. She yelped, and her grip weakened for just enough time for you to push her away and punch her square in the face. You didn't know what came over you, maybe it was the adrenaline, but when your hand and her face connected you heard a sickening crunch. She fell to the ground, blood oozing out of her disfigured nose. Surprisingly she tried to stumble to her feet, and you decided to grab the switch blade from your backpack. You slipped it into your pocket for easy access in case she tried fighting you again. 

"Courtnee, don't! Oh my god.." One of the other girls yelled as the girl jumped on you. You pushed her off, kicking her ankles to make her fall. She collapsed to the ground, and grabbed your leg. She pulled you to the ground, and started punching your face. You grabbed her wrists, and the two of you began wrestling on the ground. You heard the employee from earlier speaking hurriedly on the phone with who you assumed was the police. You tried to free yourself from the girl's grasp, but she wrapped her hands around your throat. She squeezed hard, and you gasped. You reached into your pocket, flipping your switch blade knife open. You saw the other girls and guy come over and try and pry her off, and failing. Holding the knife with a white-knuckled grip, you swung upwards towards her. The knife sank into the flesh of the side of her neck. Blood squirted out of her neck, painting her neck and face red. You realized that you had stabbed her in her carotid artery, explaining why she was loosing so much blood. The other customers screamed as you threw her off of you. You pushed her friends away, grabbing your bag and laptop quickly. You felt someone try and grab you, so you turned and swung blindly at them. You ended up leaving a mean cut on the guy's cheek, which distracted him enough for you to be able to dash away. As you ran you closed the blade and put it into your pocket again. You were able to make it back to your hotel room, but you knew you couldn't stay any longer. The police would be after you, and they definitely would know what you look like. You frantically packed all of your belongings back into your bag, tears streaming down your face.

"Did I kill her? Fuck, fuck what do I do! What got into me, what the fuck!" Your thoughts spiraled, and you got lost in them. You had made a very suspicious exit from the hotel - you ran out muttering about killing - and just started running. It wasn't long before you heard police sirens chasing after you, getting closer and closer. You were near the park now. "There's a forest next to the park, maybe I can run into it and duck into some bushes or climb a tall tree." You thought quickly, running into the park. The police cars couldn't really follow you in, so the police men were stuck on foot. Luckily since you had been running so much lately you could just barely keep enough space between you and them to loose them in the forest. Once you were deep enough into the forest that they couldn't see you very well, you took a sharp left, almost tripping over multiple things as you did. You ran in a zig-zag pattern in case they had brought any guns with them and saw you. Once you couldn't hear their footsteps as well, you climbed the nearest sturdy tree. You had probably set some kind of record with your climbing too with how fast you climbed. "What is it with me and all this weird strength lately? I know there's a lot of adrenaline in me right now, but Jesus Christ!" You thought exasperatedly as you sat on the tallest, sturdiest branch of the tree catching your breath. You watched as the police men ran right past where you were, one of them calling back up on his walkie-talking. You let out a big sigh, hugging your backpack to your chest tightly for some form of comfort. You didn't know what to do, could life get any worse at this point?

You groaned, wiping the tears off of your face. "The only contact I have is Rosemary's... should I call her? I can just lie about where I'm hiding if I need to. She's my only hope at this point.." You sucked in a sharp breath. You knew that it was likely she'd just freak out and call the police, but it was a chance you were willing to take if it meant being able to hide out somewhere. You took your phone out of your bag, along with the card she had given you just the day prior. You dialed the number, anxiety pooling in your stomach.

"Hello?"

"Rosemary, I fucked up."

[informationcentral]

1. Runaway

(F/Y) ~ Favorite YouTuber

TWs ~ Child Abuse/Neglect, mention of sexual relationship with a large age gap (both adults, just a big age gap)

        You sighed, staring blankly up at your ceiling. You could hear the muffled voices of your parents arguing below you, your cheap headphones not being able to fully block out the noise. You were listening to some music on max volume, and it was giving you a headache. You'd rather a headache than having to hear the disgusting words your parents were screaming about each other and you. Somehow, your parents always managed to drag you into every single one of their arguments. They always blamed you for destroying their marriage, and complained about how your mom regretted not having an abortion. You pondered why they didn't just give you up for adoption. Your best guess was that they would get in less legal trouble taking out their physical anger on you than one another. Whenever your dad even got too close to your mom during an argument, she screamed abuse and called the police. You just didn't have the energy to fight back against them, so it was easier to hit you instead. You were just happy that they even let you live with them, you were sure they would've kicked you out the second you turned 18, but here you are.

You threw your legs over the side of your bed, standing up. Glancing over quickly at your old digital clock on your nightstand, you realized just how long they had been arguing. It had been at least three hours. Dread and anxiety pooled in your stomach and you tore your gaze away from the clock. You instead looked over at your creaky wooden door, and quickly walked over to it. You checked the lost, triple checking it to make sure it was locked. Usually if your door was locked they held off their abuse until later, or forgot they even wanted to hit you completely. That was only usually though, and this was far different from usual. they never argued this long unless your mom found out something particularly terrible. By that, you usually mean she found out your dad was sleeping with another woman. Everyone knows your dad has been cheating on your mom for years, and he even had a woman - who is half his age - get an abortion because he had gotten her pregnant. You're honestly surprised that only happened once, factoring in the sheer number of woman he sleeps with. You huffed, and furrowed your brows. You felt like crying, but stopped yourself from doing so. It wouldn't help anything, other than maybe letting out some pent up emotions. Your parents would probably hear, though, and you didn't need any attention from them right now.

You shuffled tiredly over to your desk, sitting down in your chair. You might as well do something over than laying in bed idly, maybe you could watch one of your comfort youtubers. You turned on your laptop, and opened YouTube. You browsed the recommended videos, eventually clicking on one by (F/Y). You paused your music, and plugged your headphones into your laptop. The video played in the background as you opened up Google Classroom. You hadn't started your homework yet, and it was getting late. You started with your Language homework first, quickly finishing what you needed to do. Language and Science were always your strong suit in school, and even with the advanced classes you took, you were still ahead of your peers. Math and Civics on the other hand were definitely not your strong suit. Civics was okay, just extremely boring, and Math just had you completely lost sometimes. You still had good grades in those subjects, they just took you some more time. Another thing you excelled in was Art, it was one of your biggest hobbies other than writing. You had art hung up on your wall, depicting your favorite characters and things. You took a second away from your work to look at the art hung up above your desk. It was some drawings of a few creepypasta characters, and recreations of the slenderman posters. You had done a pretty good job recreating them, in your opinion. 

You finished your work pretty quickly, and decided to browse the internet. You found some badly written creepypastas, and read them to help boost your spirits. It actually worked pretty well, and you found yourself feeling much better after reading a few of them. Eventually, you got tired and bored. Checking the time, you saw it was 10:48 at night. You questioned why you were tired for a moment, since you always went to bed late. You assumed it was just because you had been sitting for so long, and decided to make a quick bathroom break from your internet browsing to stretch your legs and splash some water on your face to refreshen a bit. You took out your headphones, straining your ears to listen for any sounds from your parents. Luckily, you didn't hear anything coming from either of them. You walked over to your door, opening it just enough you could slip through. You quietly snuck through the hallway and into the bathroom, looking at yourself in the mirror. You looked disheveled and greasy, but that was usual for you. You turned on the sink, cupping your hands under the stream of cold water, You bent over the sink, splashing the gathered water on your face. You repeated this a few times before closing the faucet and patting your face dry with a towel.

You listened a bit more, still not hearing a peep out of your parents. You crept back to your room, making sure to avoid every squeaky floor board. You had successfully made it back to your room, closing the door behind you. You breathed a sigh of relief, and began walking back to your laptop when you heard a door slam open from somewhere in the house. You froze in place, eyes moving to gaze at your door like a deer in headlights. You heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs, and you could immediately identify the footsteps as your mother's. Your breath sped up, and you already knew what was going to happen. You shut your eyes tightly. "No, shit! I don't want to get beat, what the fuck do I do?" You thought, looking around your room wildly. You laid your eyes on your schoolbag sitting discarded in the corner of your room by your bed. You rushed over, grabbing onto it. It was pretty empty since you only took a few notebooks from school, leaving all your unneeded text books in your locker back at school. You slipped on your shoes, and grabbed your laptop, charger, and headphones, shoving the objects into the bag as fast as you could. Your mom started banging on your door, yelling at you from the other side to unlock it before she tore it down and never let you have a door again. You didn't listen to her, instead slipping your phone into the bag with your laptop. You grabbed the charger for your phone as well, and finally grabbed your wallet. Zipping up your bag, you rushed over to the only window in your room that was next to your desk. You pried it open just as your mom started trying to break down the door full force. A gust of cold wind came in from the now-open window, and you reached over for the switch blade on your desk last second. You shoved it into your hoodie pocket as you crawled out your window. Luckily you were only on the second floor, and there was a big tree outside your window. You had crawled out onto it before, but it had been a while. The tree branch wasn't the absolute sturdiest, and you didn't really want to take any chances. Now, though, it was either take this chance or get your ass handed to you by your mother and inevitably your father when you were late to school the next day.

You crawled onto the branch, and it bent slightly under your weight. You began climbing down the tree, and halfway to the bottom you heard your door aggressively slam open in your room. Adrenaline pumping through your veins, you jumped to the ground. You hit your arm on a branch going down, but you didn't even register the sharp pain as you ran at an Olympic pace away from your house. Your mother was screaming for your father, telling him that you had run away and to call the police. You had blanked out, and were running to no particular destination. You only stopped when the adrenaline began to wear off, and your feet began aching along with your arm. You stopped and doubled-over, gasping for air as your chest burned. You looked around, noticing a bench nearby that you immediately dragged yourself over too. You collapsed down on it, trying to calm yourself as you looked around. You were in a park, and there was no-one else in sight. You knew the park you were at, which you were happy about. At least you hadn't gotten yourself lost. You went to this park often when you were younger - your parents usually dropped you off unsupervised and let you go wild for a few hours. At least they cared enough to pack you a lunch box with snacks. You sighed, letting your eyes flutter closed as you regained strength. You were sure you had ended up bruising your arm, which was annoying. Better than whatever was waiting for you if you hadn't ran for it. 

You sat on the bench in silence, listening to the sound of the crickets and leaves rustling in the cool wind. Your serenity was interrupted when you heard a male voice coming from a few feet away. Your eyes snapped open, scared since you were out at night alone. "Oh sorry! We didn't mean to frighten you." The female apologized, holding her hands up by her shoulders. You fear died down a bit, but you were still suspicious of the two. The guy was tall, probably the tallest man you've ever met. His curly red hair and clothes contrasted against his dark skin. His hair looked died as it was a faded yellow at the edges. His outfit was odd, as he wore a grey button-up shirt with a tie the same color of the blonde part of his hair. His pants were dark brown, and he wore a pair of dressy shoes. He wore something similar to a knight's cape, and appeared to have his sleeves rolled up to his elbow. His right arm was obscured by the cape, but by how the fabric bent, he appeared to be missing his arm past about halfway down the forearm. To top it all off, he had a pair of goggles resting amongst his hair. The woman he was with had light blonde hair and even darker skin than her companion. She had red lipstick on, and eyeshadow the same coral shade as her dress. She had long white gloves that ended right before her elbow. She had a scar in the form of an X on the left side of her chest, as well as a more faded one over her left eye - that appeared clouded over. Like the man, she was tall. You had to crane your head upwards to meet her eye. 

"We just asked if you're okay, you look hurt." The woman said, looking at you with worry. You shook your head dismissively, slouching forwards. You didn't feel like opening up to strangers, especially ones that could easily overpower you in a fight at the dead of night no less, but you had no where to stay. You had a chance of getting hurt, or killed, no matter what option you went with. The woman seemed pretty trustworthy, but the man had a very mean aura. He glared daggers into you, obviously impatient with the conversation. You didn't answer for a moment, and he groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Rosemary! We're going to be late if we stop here any longer, you know this." The man complained, moving his gaze over to who you now know is Rosemary. She sighed deeply, turning to look at the other.

"Come on Jaskier! The poor kid looks hurt. I thought you didn't even want to go, anyways. Lets at least see if we need to call the police before we just run off." Rosemary scolded the other, who you mentally noted was named Jaskier. Jaskier moved his hand to grasp the opposite side of his cape, pulling it closer to his body and making his missing arm more obvious underneath the fabric. You noticed that there where bumps on the existing part of arm, all connected by something similar to a vine. This just served to make you confused.

"You can do that, I'll be on my way. You can survive walking there without me." Jaskier hissed, turning on his heel and walking away. Rosemary shook her head in disappointment, pinching the bridge of her nose. She looked back over at you, adopting a friendlier stance and facial expression. 

"I'm sorry about him, he's not always like that." Rose tried to console you. "Anyways, back to my original question: do you need help? What happened?" She asked, her tone hushed and motherly. You felt your heart squeeze at the semblance of motherly attention. You felt tears well in your eyes, and looked down at you lap so she wouldn't see them.

"I'm fine, I just don't have anywhere to sleep tonight. Stuff happened at home." You told the women quietly, your voice barely above a whisper. You felt a hand on your shoulder, and the woman knelt before you. You looked her in the eyes, trying to hold it together. She pushed one of her braids back, giving the kindest smile you've ever received.

"Hey, it's okay honey. I get it, something similar happened to me when I was younger." The woman said somberly, reaching into her hand purse. You were confused for a second, then you noticed that she was pulling out cash.

"Oh, no ma'am - you really don't have to!" You said, tensing up. The woman just shook her head, counting through the cash. It looked like it was around 150 dollars, which just made you feel even worse. You didn't know how you'd repay her for this, or if you'd ever see her again.

"No, sweetie it's fine! It doesn't change much about my life, but it could change a lot about yours! Here, take it." She said humbly, handing you the cash. "There's a hotel about a mile from here. I can walk with you, if you'd like." She told you. You shook your head, politely declining her offer.

"No, ma'am you've already done enough for me. I don't want to bother you any more, or make you later for whatever you and the guy you were with have to go to." You explained, letting her gently pull you to your feet. 

"Well, if you insist. If you're ever in a pinch again though, please call me." She pleaded, handing you her business card. "Also I do genuinely apologize for how Jaskier acted. I don't know what gets into him sometimes!" Rosemary apologized, her tone dripping venom at the end. 

"It's fine, I really didn't mind. I'll be on my way now, thank you again. Thank you so, so much." You told her, and she smiled again. "She sure does smile a lot, huh?" You thought as she playfully shooed you away. You began walking in the direction she pointed you in, trying to ignore the painfulness in your feet. You began to fully process what just happened, questions about the two people you had just met plaguing your mind along with many other thoughts. The fact that you were homeless for the night finally set in, and your head felt like it was spinning. Everything started crashing down on you as the situation fully set in. You walked a bit faster, hoping that if you made it to the hotel fast enough you could escape your thoughts for a little while. "What will happen when I go home? They'll probably just kill me if I ever go back.... oh fuck." You thought, the situation becoming even worse for you. Before you could ponder the thought more, you reached the hotel. It was nice-looking, and clean. You pushed open the glass door, the desk lady looking up at you blandly. You shuffled over to the front desk, and the woman straightened her posture a bit.

"Hello, how may I help you?"