Late Summer Night Glimpses
[Various Creepypasta/Marble Hornets X GN!Reader]
[AN: I actually wrote a bit of this while in the shower staving off the terrible heat in our apartment! Something short bc yeah]
UGH. He hates the heat. He rolls his sleeves up and canât stand it. On the warmest of nights, he actually takes his hoodie off.
While heâs most active in the night, the heat usually stops him from wanting to do much else than plop down and hang out. So naturally, the two of you just⊠hang out on the rooftop of the mansion. He saw the stars were out. Beautiful and bright, and almost perfectly in the same place as they were on earth. Oh, how the Slender Man loves the earthâs beauty yet fails to replicate it completely.
He leans in your doorway and nods his head for you to follow him, and without any second thought, you go with him. You follow him through the twists of the snake-like halls and up, up to the staircase that spirals endlessly to the roof. He headstone soft footsteps behind him, mentally noting how you need to work just a bit more on your light step.
Really quiet. The night is quiet save for a few rustles of leaves from animals moving about the forest, at last, those that have wandered in. Jeff guides your gaze to the stars above and he talks a bit to you. Soft memories of the life he sheeting live slip out in his slight knowledge of the stars overhead. Liu once mentioned the Big Dipper would be right⊠there!
You enjoy your time with him quietly. Every now and then you ask if he knows what a certain bright dot in the sky is, or if heâs aware of the myths that often surround them. He knows some, not others, but enjoys departing his knowledges you as best as he can. When you ask if he wants to do anything else for the night, he smiles and shakes his head, âno thanks, just enjoy whatever this is.â
Heâs not terribly fond of heat. Reminds him of something rather unpleasant, but something about warm summer nights makes him feel nostalgic. The summer before he went off to college, being out at night with his friends when he was human⊠itâs a pleasant thought.
He even briefly thinks of summers spent abroad by a fireplace with loved ones, speaking in a language no one really indulges with him now, roasting things and giggling all the while. So, he asks you to follow him out the back of Slenderâs mansion, and you oblige.
EJ leads you down the gravel path lined in plush bushes donned with soft flowers to a fire pit. Thereâs already others of Slenderâs children spending time out here. It smells comforting, nostalgic for yourself too as the both of you sit down in the grass near the bursting heat.
The two of you sit together comfortably, chatting amongst each other and sometimes with the proxies and independents who sit near you, enjoying the late night. You can smell the fire and some beer, the sweetness of a graham cracker⊠wait, who brought those in?
Before you know it, youâre getting handed a bag of the sâmores stuff and you make one with a stick plucked from the bundle that was handed to you. And curiously, you watch EJ begin to make one too. You smile at him, and he smiles back, âdonât worry, a little sugar never killed anyone.â
Heâs considered himself to have weird feelings about the summer ever since Lyra died. He wanted a break from school, some respite from the horrendous bullying but without her, but without his best friend, who was he? It took Toby a while to greet the summer with a smile again.
Toby told you he stole a car. Itâs kind of normal for himâhe has a thing for cars. Not necessarily the nicest ones, but when he can tell someoneâs attached to their car, he has an itch to take it. He burst into your room with a grin, keys twirling on his fingers and asked you to join him for a drive.
The night air is still humid, yet the breeze is beginning to cool the sweat formed on your brow from walking through the woods, from out of the Slender Manâs world and into the human one. Effortlessly, you sit in the car beside him and he takes off.
The two of you cruise, sometimes talking, and sometimes humming along to the radio. It continues on like this, so comfortably, until he gets the low fuel ding. He pulls into a gas station and hands you his wallet. âGet something good for us,â he chuckles.
You browse the shelves and come back, arms full of treats and cold drinks for the night. You somehow manage to pop the car door open again right as Toby slides into the driverâs seat. He sees you with the snacks in your arms and plucks the Red Bull from you with a devious grin plastered on his face. âMy favorite!â He laughs like a kid as you roll your eyes playfully. âHowâd you know?â
Youâre more than used to spending time in cars with Tim. Shuffling from one place to the next, often out on errands for your boss, and then back to base for dinner! Youâve spent more time in that car than you want to admit. And Tim has somehow managed to keep it to roughly the same car the entire time. Or at least, he really likes Honda C-RVsâŠ
This is no different. The both of you leave the sweltering building youâve both done more than a paint job in and he immediately unlocks the car with a click of his finger on the worn down button. The summer night air hits your skin like a cool kiss that was more than needed after the heat youâd accrued inside.
You wipe the back of your hand on your forehead and with the last of your strength propel yourself forward to open the car door and slump inside. You sigh as Tim sits beside you and closes his eyes for a few moments. Youâre both more than exhausted. He still has evidence all over his face but it doesnât matter in the moment.
You eye him curiously. The warmth of the sitting car blankets the both of you uncomfortably as you sit in silence. Itâs a little awkward for you. Out of all of your years spending time at the side of your group leader, youâve never seen him do⊠this. You quirk your brow up as he rolls his sleeves up once again.
Timâs brown eyes remain closed. He breathes in through his nose, and out through his mouth a few times to the count of 4. When he senses you about to speak, he shakes his head. âUsed to do this a lot after work, when I was still human⊠decompressing⊠you should try it,â he mumbles. The small tick of a smile pulls at the corner of his lips when he hears you shift and breathe to the same count of 4.
The corn fields look especially lush under the light of the summer moon. At least you think so. Your body is exhausted. You roll your shoulders as you come up to the ranch house that slightly smells of day old iron as your proxy gaze sharpens in the night. Sitting on the porch is Alex.
Heâs lounging. His legs are draped on the stairs and his elbows rest back on the top of the porch. His glasses are glinted with the light of the moon as he watches you stalk through the field to his side. Wordlessly, he asks you how it went, and with a shrug, you convey that it was fine.
Unceremoniously, you plop down beside him and let out a breath you didnât know you were holding. You can hear the crickets chirp in the background and the sound of owls singing in the distance. You glance at Alex who sits just a step above you as you relax beside him, your weary body finally giving in to the cooling kiss of the night.
Alex only continues gazing up at the moon and the few stars that peek out from behind the clouds. The pale light of the full visage peers down on you both gingerly, like a whispered secret. You smell the earth, the vegetation around you, and even a bit of Alex. The smell that wraps around him is nostalgic, but you feel homesick for a home youâve never known.
You look away from him and continue to gaze outwards, both st the stretching field and the beautiful night sky. âNice night,â he says simply, never one for words ever since he transitioned to the proxy lifestyle. It makes you stifle a giggle. Heâs never been good at playing normal.
When does Kate not look utterly exhausted? Sheâs fully relaxed on a park bench under the worldâs shadiest looking lamppost and still exhausted from the mere fact she has to stay awake until you meet with her. She only begins to perk up when she sees you walking towards her, purposefully, yet still languid. She yawns and invites you to take a seat next to her.
The lamp light flickers a few times before it finally shutters off, and the two of you snicker. You glance at her in the newfound darkness as if to ask her if you should rise, but she shakes her head. She holds her pale hand up and then drops it back down to her lap. You take notice of the hoodie clung to her form, mentally chastising her for steaming herself due tk the humidity of the night.
Kate offers a sheepish smile in return and rolls her sleeves up. She yawns again before slumping a bit on the bench. Her gaze in the dark conveys all you need to knowâshe wants five more minutes of sitting around and doing nothing. You smile, and playfully shake your head before you indulge her. In the distance, you can hear the park at night. Creatures scurrying about, kids up to no good⊠itâs a wonder she wants to rest where she is when you have a car up and waiting for her.
Youâre pulled from your thoughts when her head lolls onto your shoulder and you feel her breathing lighten. Sheâs fading in and out of consciousness and the quilted heat isnât doing her any favors of alertness. Instead, you shift so she can comfortably use your shoulder and preoccupy yourself by counting the leaves on the emerald tree in front of you.
One⊠two⊠threeâ Kate rouses beside you and slowly blinks her eyes open. She glances at you, pulls another yawn from her lips and then drops her head on your shoulder once more. âFive more minutes,â she whispers as her breathing steadies once more.