— “ and then you say 'i love you.' ”
a/n: me when i tell myself i'll never write another long post again only to end up here. with another long post. this is a thank you for 600 followers!! hi!! i love all 600 of you!! i genuinely gave up with the warnings half-way writing this but i think everything is generally covered... uhm. holding the hand of every nathan the nobody fan... im so sorry but he's not here... i couldnt come up with anything...
synopsis: those three words just slip out before you can think to stop them. a reaction, and consequence.
includes: slenderman, jeff the killer, jane the killer, nina the killer, homicidal liu + sully (separate), the bloody painter, nurse ann, eyeless jack, laughing jack, hobo heart, ticci toby, clockwork, jason the toymaker, the puppeteer, zalgo, x-virus, laughing jill, candy pop, dr smiley, kagekao, kate the chaser, the doll maker, judge angels, zero, rouge the proxy, emra, zachary the proxy, tim wright, brian thomas, alex kralie, jay merrick, and jessica locke.
warnings: gn!reader, varying lengths, not proofread. depictions of unhealthy relationships in some segments, fluff and angst, self-worth issues [liu], reader death [liu], possessive behavior [sully, laughing jack, jason, puppeteer, zero], blood drinking [eyeless jack], rosswood canon [jay], marble hornets canon [alex, brian], post-canon marble hornets [tim, jessica]
works referenced in this post: rambles and blurbs: liu edition, leave a light on,
SLENDERMAN — in complete honesty, does not know how to react. the moment those three words are spoke by you, it is going completely still. silence is the only response you'll get, and chances are, slender will just teleport away and leave you alone. you might interpret that as rejection, though that's not a thought that crosses its mind.
it just needed to get away for a moment, to collect itself, because... those words should not affect it as much as they did. slender has always believed itself incapable of feeling love. it isn't an emotionless creature by any means, it can feel anger and happiness just as much as any other living being, but love? interestingly enough, it didn't find itself disgusted by the idea of you loving it.
it wasn't sure if it felt the same, if it was even capable of feeling the same, but... it liked that you loved it. enough so that it starts to share a bit of its lifeforce with you, unbeknownst to you. you can't love it if you're dead, after all. you won't notice a change for a long time, and maybe when you finally do, slender might be able to tell you whether it loves you or not.
JEFF THE KILLER — will have two reactions the moment those words slip from your mouth. first, he'll freeze. this reaction will only last for a second, maybe two, depending on the situation. if your goal was to catch him off guard for whatever reason, then congratulations, you've done it! it makes him feel sick to his stomach knowing that those three words coming from you of all people has his brain short circuiting.
his second reaction will be to scoff, and mutter a quiet, 'of course you do, who wouldn't?'. not exactly the reaction you might want, but it's obvious that your words got to him, because he refuses to look your way and he ends up sticking a lot closer to you than he normally does for the remainder of the day.
he likes to put on this front that he's incapable of feeling love, and he'll act like he's not as attached to you as he really is. but no matter how hard he tries to deny his feelings for you, he gets weak every time you whisper 'i love you'. his hands shake and his heart stutters, and he feels so... normal. he will do anything to keep your affection.
JANE THE KILLER — is completely thrown off guard when you confess your love. she wasn't oblivious to your feelings by any means, but it's also not something she wanted to acknowledge. she'd believed that you would've kept your love to yourself, that you'd be too nervous to ever confess to her, but... you've proved her wrong, and it's something she finds herself both fond of, and annoyed by.
jane doesn't deny that she's in love with you. she caught on to her feelings early on, and as much as she tried to ignore them, you made it impossible. she loves you too, painfully so. it's why she starts to distance herself after you confess. you deserve better than her, and she can't give you the relationship that you want.
it's not your fault. the blame is on her, mostly. if she weren't so hellbent on murdering jeff, on getting revenge, then maybe she'd be able to accept your love and start a relationship with you. but revenge is the only thing she wants. you understand that, right?
NINA THE KILLER — is, unsurprisingly, thrilled when you confess that you love her. the smile on her face grows, and she can't stop herself from squealing in pure joy as she pulls you into a tight hug. she's practically shaking from excitement, giddy as she tells you that she loves you too, and that you two would make such a cute couple, and that everyone is going to be so jealous.
she's been waiting for this moment. love is something she, well, loves. so much so that she's dreamed of going on all these different kinds of dates. she has an entire journal full of date ideas, so at least you don't have to worry about planning any dates! she has that under control, don't worry. everything will be perfect.
and now that your feelings are out there, nina doesn't hold back her own. she tells you she loves you numerous times a day that it's impossible to keep count, and if she's not out committing crimes, then she's glued to your side and talking about anything and everything. and trust the everybody knows about your relationship, because she never shuts up about how much she loves you.
HOMICIDAL LIU — goes soft the moment you whisper those words to him. even though he struggles to believe that it's something he deserves, it's easy to tell that the affection you hold for him is something he deeply cherishes. he's always convinced himself that his love is a curse. everyone he's loved has died, and it terrifies him to his core that you'll meet the same fate if he allows himself to love you.
but you just make it so easy. the moment those three words come from your lips, liu finds himself unable to push you away. it's like he falls harder and harder every time you tell him, and he can't help but be selfish. he clings to that love. he clings to you, and your warmth. it's almost scary, how greedy he finds himself for your love.
even after your death, he clings. your grave is always taken care of. fresh flowers, gifts he think you'd like and whatnot. when he's not trailing his brother, he's sitting next to your headstone and listening to an old voice memo you had sent him early on in your relationship. 'i love you, liu,' your voice said, soft and sweet, 'i'm gonna tell you that every day, until you get sick of hearing it.' and he cries, because... god, he wishes you had kept that promise.
SULLY — has this small smile on his face the moment you say those words, and it's like he already knew how you felt before you even spoke the words aloud. maybe it's a bit shocking, but sully is incredibly attuned to people's emotions. he can easily read people, because he's always looking out for threats to liu. you really hadn't done a good job at hiding your feelings, so he was waiting for you to confess before making any moves.
it's like a switch flips, because suddenly he's acting like the two of you have been dating this entire time. his already touchy behavior seems increase tenfold, if that's even possible. he's always got a hand on you in some way, and he goes out of his way to whisper disgustingly sweet words in your ear whenever the two of you are alone. it's kinda unnerving, to be completely honest.
this man is so smitten with you, and everybody can tell just from the way he looks at you. honestly, it's a wonder that the two of you didn't get together sooner, because sully went around telling everyone he loved you like... a week after meeting you. onlookers can only hope that he doesn't let his... less than healthy feelings grow. but judging from the way he stares people down just for talking to you... well...
THE BLOODY PAINTER — hadn't reacted when you told him. you didn't say 'i love you', but the implication in your words had been there, and he just stared at you. he wasn't there, not really. but he still heard you. he could only watch as you left, his hand twitching like he wanted to reach out for you, but... he didn't. he was taken back to his room after your visit, and for the first time since the massacre, helen found himself coming out of the daze he'd been in.
he was crying, he realizes. a disgusting feeling of sorrow lurched in his chest, and anger follows soon after. he ended up destroying his room, and nurses had to come in and restrain him to keep him from destroying anything else before he eventually got sedated. he waited every day after his trial to receive letters from you, but they never came. he made a promise to himself that when he got out, he'd find you. maybe then you'd say those words to him.
you loved him. he knows you loved him. you told him that the two of you would always be friends, you told him that you would wait for him. if that's not love, then what is? and when he finally finds you, after all these years, he plans to make up for lost time. even as you flinch when he gently pulls you into a hug, his fingers digging into you like he was terrified you'd disappear if he let go. you love him, so you won't push him away, right?
NURSE ANN — isn't quite sure how to react to your confession. love wasn't a foreign concept to her, but emotions in general were something she struggled to understand and feel. she's not upset or put off by your confession by any means, but don't expect much of a reaction from her, either. she enjoys your company, and if you want to take that as her loving you back, then she doesn't really care.
she does love you, by the way. in her own way, at least. ann's inability to really understand any emotion other than anger is the main reason why she isn't too sure whether it's love or just... not. she doesn't want to hurt you, so she never gives you hope. just the thought of hurting you fills her with this sense on unease, so clearly she cares for you in a deeper compacity than she thought capable, right?
no matter, ann will never turn your love away. call her selfish, but she likes spending time with you. love is a slippery slope that she won't pretend to understand, but if you're okay with her uncertainty, then she'd be happy if you stuck around while she tried to figure out her emotions. it might take a while, but that's okay.
EYELESS JACK — is more than happy to tell you he loves you too, thought it probably slips his mind in the moment. he's fairly put together when it comes to his emotions, so he's quick to catch on to when he starts to develop feelings for you. he's not the type to deny himself something when he wants it, and trust me when i say that he wants you. in a romantic way, sure, but also in a 'i want to eat you' way.
there's nothing more romantic than cannibalism, no? of course, he wouldn't actually eat you. but if you're okay with it, he'll definitely drink your blood. like... often. it's his weird way of showing his love without using words. i do think that he would just assume that you know he loves you back, so unless you ask him flat out, he's just going to think that you're dating.
jack is just a very simple creature. you love him, he loves you, and that's enough for him. words will never be enough to convey his feelings, so he always lets his actions do the talking. but if you need to hear the words, then he'll definitely repeat them until you get sick of hearing it.
LAUGHING JACK — jolts like he's been shocked the moment those words are put out into the air. the strange affection he held for you was something he adamantly refused to acknowledge. he didn't want to admit that he'd grown attached to another person, and that he was terrified you'd eventually leave him and break his heart. but here you are, telling him you love him, and he... he can't handle it.
he is absolutely thrilled, don't get me wrong. his abandonment issues practically latch onto any ounce of affection you show him, and to hear you confirm that you love him is something that he could easily get addicted to. but it also forces him to confront his feelings for you, something that... is not as easy as it sounds. he'll probably try to distance himself from you following the confession, but that's not something that lasts.
jack gets restless when he doesn't see you for longer than three days, so he's quick to pop back up by your side. you've basically sealed your fate the moment you told him how you felt, because there's simply no way he'll ever let you go. even if you come to hate him in the future, he won't let you leave. he'll kill you if you try.
HOBO HEART — is overjoyed. you have his heart, so to hear that you reciprocate his feelings fills him with such a strong sense of euphoria that he wonders if maybe he'd died. he tries to keep his reaction in check, concerned that if he's too excited he might end up scaring you off. it's impossible to keep the smile off his face, though, and he ends up asking you to repeat yourself. seven different times.
there's just something so satisfying, hearing you say 'i love you'. it's addicting. he needs to hear you say it over and over again, until your throat bleeds and you lose your voice. it's been so long since he's felt this way about anyone, and he doesn't want this feeling to ever go away.
truthfully, he's not sure what he would do if you ever decided you didn't love him anymore. but that's not something he should ever have to worry about, because you'll never want to leave him, right? well... no matter, heart won't let another person he loves leave him.
TICCI TOBY — doesn't really know how to react. his first instinct would be to push you away, but he doesn't want to do that. after letting his walls down around you, he doesn't think he'd ever be able to just put them back up. you meant so much to him now, and even though he's not sure if the feelings he holds for you are romantic or platonic, he doesn't want to let you go.
it's an awkward conversation, one he wants to avoid, but he does sit you down and tell you that he's unsure of how he feels. and you're so understand, because of course you are. he can't lie, a small part of him had been hoping you'd freak out on him and he'd have an excuse to cut you out of his life but fuck. you're a sweetheart. things are normal after that conversation, shockingly enough.
you never bring up your feelings for him again, leaving him with his space to mull the confession over and sort through his own feelings. toby reciprocates your confession months after the fact, in the early morning when you've only just opened your eyes. he whispers the words so quietly that you wondered if maybe you'd been mistaken, but he repeats them. everything remains the same, but it's all different.
CLOCKWORK — physically recoils from you the moment those words slipped from your lips. you were meant to be nothing more than a way to pass the time, really. a warm bed for her to sleep in when she didn't want to be alone. love was never something that was supposed to happen, and she had made that pretty clear the moment you two started hooking up.
you had to stop her from leaving, catching her wrist before she can get out of bed. an argument was inevitable, but it still got pretty heated. you both said mean things, and natalie ends up storming off before things could get worse. she goes weeks without talking to you, and she feels miserable because of it. she never realized how attached she'd gotten to you until now, and she hates it.
it would take somebody else stepping in for her to get her shit together. either you trying to move on, or one of her friends (very loose term) telling her she's being a loser for leading you on. either way, she's banging on your door in the middle of the night. the moment you open it, she's kissing you. she's never done anything like this before, but it makes her sick not having you around so if a relationship is what you want, then... she'll try.
JASON THE TOYMAKER — expects you to love him. you're meant to be his other half, so it's required that you reciprocate his feelings, otherwise he'll kill you. you saying the words out loud is nice to hear, and he smiles every time you say them. he probably needs to hear it multiple times a day, truth be told. he might start having doubts, if he doesn't.
oddly enough, jason doesn't tell you he loves you back for a long time. maybe he's concerned that if he does, it'll jinx your entire relationship and he'll be forced to kill you and find a replacement once again but... if he is concerned, he never voices it out loud.
of course, now that you've said those three words, jason will never let you go. your fate was sealed the moment he decided you were his special one. the only way out of this is by dying, or... getting incredibly lucky and living the rest of your life on the run.
THE PUPPETEER — refuses to give an outward reaction to your confession. he'll try to keep his face stoic, making a vague sound in the back of his throat to let you know that he heard you. he won't say it back, but you'll know he loves you in the way his strings absently coil around your limbs. he's never been the type to verbalize his emotions, not when he views his love for you as a weakness.
and if you thought that the man was possessive before, then it only increases tenfold now that he's aware that you love him. if you're not a proxy already, then he'll definitely consider making you one just to ensure that you're stuck with him for the rest of your life. that would require putting you through hell, though. that thought is the only reason he hasn't gone through with it yet.
both emra and zachary are well aware of his feelings for you, as well. they don't outwardly use it against him, but whenever they (zach, to be specifically) really want something, they have you ask him because they know he's more likely to listen to you than anyone else. so long as you don't ever try leaving, then your relationship with him will remain perfect.
ZALGO — is thoroughly amused, that's for sure. in the thousands of years of his existence, he's not sure he's ever heard anyone utter those words towards him before. perhaps a few lovers of the vessels he's possessed, but that affection was never for him. not even the cults he has would be so bold to declare love for him. fear, respect, awe... he expects those. but love?
such a mortal emotion is beneath him, so he tells himself. and yet here you are, still alive. still by his side. he's done nothing to rid himself of you, and actively goes out of his way to murder anyone who suggests you might be a weakness. how idiotic to assume one mortal human could be his downfall. he keeps you around because you entertain him, that's all.
but you know better. he's always around, even when he doesn't need to be. he keeps you company, even when he doesn't have to. he never tells you off or pushes you away when you wanna hold the hand of whatever vessel he's possessing. he might never say the words out loud, but you know.
X-VIRUS — actually jumps with joy when you confess to him. cody wears his heart on his sleeve, so he can't mask his excitement the moment his brain processes your soft 'i love you', and he ends up pulling you into a suffocating hug before quickly letting go and apologizing.
to be honest, cody had been trying to figure out the right time to tell you about his feelings. he's never been in love before, but he knows that he loves you because his heart races whenever you're around, and he kinda wants to lock you up and handcuff you to him whenever you have to leave. he'd never do that! not without your permission, at least, but the thoughts are always there.
and now that he knows you feel the same, cody won't shut up about you. he's constantly telling everybody that he's your boyfriend, and that the two of you are in love. he can't help it! he loves you so much, it's impossible for him to contain it.
LAUGHING JILL — is very certain that her heart melts when you tell her you love her. for a moment, she wonders if she had misheard you, or if you had meant the confession to be for someone else. but there was nobody around, and you were looking at her expectantly.
the excitement she feels is dizzying, and she's barely able to squeak out a soft 'really?'. the moment you reassure her that, yes, you very much do love her, it's like a dam breaks. she's throwing her arms around you and pulling you into a tight hug, tears streaming down her face as she's overwhelmed with emotions she didn't know how to describe.
for a long time, jill thought that anger was the only thing she could ever feel. after everything that has happened, anger became the only emotion she knew how to properly register. meeting you brought so many new emotions, and to know that you felt the same way about her was just... overwhelming, to say the least. she just loves you so much.
CANDY POP — is conflicted. on one hand, he finds himself thrilled at the idea that you love him. it feeds into his ego, and he thrives off whatever attention he can get from you. but on the other, he's annoyed. romance is a tedious thing that he doesn't want to entertain. he's a big, bad, evil, and scary monster. you're stupid for loving him.
but even as he says all of that, he's clinging to you. he has his cheek resting on your head, or your shoulder, pouting about how you're going to make everyone think he's gone soft. he hasn't, you both know that, but he likes to pretend, and you let him. there is so such thing as soft with him. but, he has gotten attached, so you're comforted by the fact that he won't kill you, at least.
he's always on edge. candy isn't an idiot, he's well aware that the feelings you hold for him right now very well may change in the future, and that thought makes him feel restless. he's not against dragging you into the abyss and forcing you to stay by his side if he so much as gets the idea that you're trying to leave him.
DR SMILEY — cocks his head to the side at your confession. love? he's familiar with the concept. he's studied people, and seen lovers cry over each other's corpses after performing his experiments and whatnot, but... you love him? either you lack morals, or you're just incredibly stupid. perhaps both, honestly, he can't decide. he almost wants to laugh in your face with how absurd those three words had been, but he doesn't.
damien doesn't reject you, interestingly enough. maybe you only said it in an attempt to get him to spare you, or maybe you actually meant it. he isn't sure, and he doesn't really care. you've caught his attention, and he wants to keep you around long enough to study you. a living subject would be good, after all the dead ones he's picked apart and devoured already.
he might not understand your reasonings for the confession, but he's more than happy to play the part of a doting boyfriend if that's what you truly want. he might even treat it as another experiment for a while, but... it starts to become oddly genuine, the longer it goes on. he's not sure he'd be willing to let you go, if you ever tried to leave.
KAGEKAO — will definitely need a couple hours to even process that you had meant the confession, and that it wasn't some odd little joke you'd been trying to tell. he treats life like a game, so it's always so strange when something serious happens that he can't make a joke out of. he's had serious relationships before, though that was before he even realized he was gay.
he'd always believed relationships just weren't for him, also. a long-term relationship always led to heartbreak, and flings were much more his style. neither of you were meant to get attached, and yet here you are, telling him you love him. and he... he isn't rejecting you, oddly enough.
your relationship with him changes after the confession. it's never spoken about out of fear that acknowledging it might ruin everything, but kagekao does start behaving like a boyfriend rather than an fling. he doesn't leave immediately after hooking up, and his touch starts to linger. he can love you back, he thinks.
KATE THE CHASER — considers you her home, so to hear that you love her? it just solidifies in her mind that you are her safe space. you, for whatever reason that freaks her out if she thinks about it too much, accept her for who she is. you love her, despite all her flaws, and that's not something she ever expected. it's not something she felt she deserved.
words will never be enough to convey how deeply kate loves you. you do so much for her and never expect anything in return, and she would give you the entire world if she could. even on the days where she wants nothing to do with anybody and shuts you out, you still wait patiently for her. it makes her sick, sometimes.
your love is the one thing she allows herself. as a proxy, she knows that she'll never be able to hold a normal relationship. it's a wonder why slender was allowing her to maintain this relationship with you in the first place, but she won't question it. she'll be selfish, and drink up all the time she has with you.
THE DOLL MAKER — truly thinks he misheard you. his heart lurches, a spark of hope in his chest, but... no. no, he was just hearing things. he shouldn't get ahead of himself. romance isn't something he's well versed in, so when he fell for you, he fell fast. but there's no way you'd ever feel the same. but then you're carefully cupping his cheeks so he's forced to meet your gaze, and you're repeating your confession.
and oh. maybe miracles are real. he chokes up a bit, shedding a few tears and burying his face in his hands so you don't see him like this. it's a really soft moment, and he gets emotional every time he thinks about it. he never thought his feelings could be reciprocated, but you always have a way of proving him wrong.
he wants to be the perfect boyfriend for you. you deserve only the best, and he refuses to give you anything less. vine will cherish you for however long you'll choose to stay in his life. and he hopes that if you ever decide to leave, he'll be able to let you go.
JUDGE ANGELS — goes quiet as she processes your words. love is a sensitive topic for her for many different reasons. she's always dreamed of being in love, and she's read far too many romance novels in her spare time just to fantasize about what it might be like, but to hear that someone actually loves her... it's not something she ever expected, honestly.
dina isn't entirely sure how she should respond, and she ends up overthinking it and getting lost in her thoughts for so long that you have to awkwardly tell her that it's okay if she didn't feel the same, and that you'd still love to be her friend. you were giving her an out, one that she's quick to shut down as she stumbles over her words. she's not rejecting you, no! you just caught her off guard.
the relationship between the two of you develops at a steady pace. you're her first time for every single thing, and you're always ensuring that she's comfortable before doing anything. it makes her heart melt, every time you gently ask if she's okay with the affection you give her. you are the greatest thing that's ever happened to her.
ZERO — actually laughs in your face. are you crazy? no sane person would ever fall in love with her, so you have to be just as fucked in the head as her, no? out of the billions of people in the world, you just had to give your heart to the woman who wouldn't hesitate to crush it in her hands without a second thought.
she's attached to you to some extent though, judging from the way you're still alive. she doesn't know how you've managed to make her attached, and she'll get really angry if you even try pointing it out to her, so just be happy with what she gives you, yeah? it's the closest thing to love you'll probably ever get from her.
but don't think you can fall for anyone else, either. in zero's mind, you belonged to her the moment she decided to keep you around. if she sees you getting all buddy-buddy with another person, she'll kill them in front of you. consider it a lesson for thinking you could live a normal life after her.
ROUGE THE PROXY — acknowledges your confession with a slight nod. she's never hidden her own feelings for you, making her love abundantly obvious with the way she followed you around everywhere to ensure your safety. but it's also something she struggles to voice out loud. after everything she'd been through, showing any ounce of vulnerability is... well... scary.
taking care of you became second nature to her, and that naturally led to her falling in love with you. but to hear you felt the same way? it's... strange. she's happy, don't get her wrong, but she feels cornered. like something horrible will happen if she so much as indulges in those feelings.
you'd have to take this relationship step by step for her to even think about giving it a try. she's still fiercely protective over you, obviously, but she's withdrawn herself just a bit. if you really want this to work out, you just need to stay patient. once she gets out of her head, then everything will work out.
EMRA — smiles sadly when you tell her you love her. if life had been different, she would've been able to tell you the same, but she could never put you through the hell that would come with her loving you. it's bad enough that she's even risking your safety by interacting with you like this. your company is the one selfish thing she allows herself, but she didn't think you'd fall in love with her.
the puppeteer is fiercely possessive over her, so much so that he barely even lets zachary visit her. you could get in a lot of trouble if he ever found out you were sneaking around to visit her. after your confession, emra doesn't have much of a choice but to turn you away when you try visiting her. this is for your own good, she tells herself. you shouldn't put yourself in harms way just to talk to her.
and it hurts, shutting you out like this. she wants nothing more than to pull you into her arms and never let go. if she could cry, then she'd be shedding an endless sea of tears over the 'what if' scenarios her mind conjures up. but if cutting you off means you get to survive another day, then that's just a pain emra will have to go through.
ZACHARY THE PROXY — finds himself looking around the moment you speak the words into existence. he's on alert, making sure nobody is around before he's lowering his guard and quietly telling you he loves you too. he can never be too careful when around you, because the puppeteer is always watching. and zach, he didn't want you getting involved with that bastard.
but he's selfish, incredibly so. emra tells him that he should let you go, that you'll be safer if he didn't get involved with you. and sure, that's probably the truth, but he didn't care. he did so much for his 'master', so he thinks he deserves to have something for himself. he's gone this long without the puppeteer learning about your existence, and he's confident he can keep it like that for a while.
and should the puppeteer ever find out about your existence and zachary's relationship with you, then... be prepared for your entire life to be turned upside down, because zach won't hesitate to tear you out of your little life in society and keep you trapped in some cabin in the woods just to keep you safe from his master's will.
TIM WRIGHT — can't help but feel a bit guilty when you tell him you love him. after everything that he's been through, tim doesn't feel worthy of love. love, in general, is something that scares him now. everybody he's ever loved in some way ended up dying, and that's a weight too heavy for him to share with anyone else. just the thought of you getting hurt makes him sick, and that's the logic he uses when he cuts you off.
he completely disappears from your life. tim would go as far as to change his number, too, just to keep you from contacting him. he doesn't deserve you, you have to understand that. cutting you off like this will make you realize that he's not worth your love, and that you deserve so much better. someone who can love you back in full.
and though he cuts himself out of your life, he does keep check on you. tim doesn't want to admit it, but he truly does love you. he checks your social media every other day to see if you've posted anything new. it's the only way he can keep you close, because there's no way he'd ever allow himself back into your life.
BRIAN THOMAS — smiles like you'd just handed him the world the moment those three words escape your lips. he's pulling you into a kiss and whispering back his confession while lacing your fingers together. the two of you had been dating for a while now, and he'd been waiting for you to say those words first because he knew he loved you the moment he laid his eyes on you.
brian knows he can come on strong, and he didn't want to risk scaring you off with the overwhelming affection he held for you. he's taking everything at your pace, step by step. to any onlookers, your relationship with brian was simply perfect. the two of you resolved arguments quickly, and neither of you ever crossed any boundaries without talking to each other about it first.
so when brian disappeared, you were distraught. nobody seemed worried, and you couldn't get in contact with tim. it wasn't until jay contacted you about marble hornets that you began to get any leads on where brian might be. there was nothing that could stop you from searching for the man. not even the strange messages from some unknown number, or the occasional glimpse of a hooded man from the corner of your eye can scare you off. you will find brian. you will bring him home.
ALEX KRALIE — was in the middle of writing the script for marble hornets when you whispered those words in his ear. he'd been so focused on the project that he hadn't even realized you'd shown up. if this was your way of distracting him from work to get him to take a break, then it's working, because he finds it increasingly difficult to focus on anything other than you.
your relationship with alex was something the entire crew knew about. whenever he'd get stressed on set and snap at people, jay would end up calling you to talk to him. just talking to you was enough to distract him from whatever was stressing him out. everyone thought the two of you would have a happily ever after, honestly.
you thought that would've been the case, too. but the blood on your hands tells you otherwise as you stare down at alex's corpse. you're only vaguely aware of tim behind you, and you just feel so... lost. how did it come to this? life had been so perfect. and now everyone is dead. the love of your life is dead. how are you supposed to move on from this?
JAY MERRICK — almost trips over himself when you first say those words. you say them so casually that it catches him off guard, and he had to steady himself against a wall to overcome the wave of euphoria that hit him. you two had only been dating for a few months, and he'd been wondering when the perfect time to say 'i love you' would be. thank god you said it first, honestly.
his relationship with you was, in every aspect, perfect. he never thought a silly crush on you back in college would get him anywhere, but now the two of you are buying a house together and he'd been looking at rings recently. genuinely, there's nothing in life that he could possibly ever want, not when he has you by his side. but... then alex called him.
he doesn't know how much time as gone by. he can't remember the last time he's seen the sun. it's probably only been a couple of days, but it feels like months have already passed. he's pretty sure alex is dead, and he feels like he's going to go insane. all he can think about is his last conversation with you. a promise that he'll be home soon. god, he hopes you can forgive him.
JESSICA LOCKE — feels a little dizzy when she processes your confession. her heart is racing in her chest, and she stares at you for a solid three seconds before a bright smile is blooming on her face and she's laughing. it's not a mean laugh, no, it's a relieved one. she thought that her feelings for you might have been unrequited, so to hear that they aren't? well, she just can't help but laugh at herself for being so worried.
honestly, she didn't think dating was possible after everything that happened. it's a silly thought, and she knows that, but the thought of doing anything after the apparent horrors she'd gone through... it was weird. life as a whole felt weird.
after everything she's gone through (though she still can't remember most of it), it's a breath of fresh air being able to just... enjoy a normal relationship. she doesn't have to worry about anything trying to kill her, she can just relax when you're around and laugh at your stupid jokes while watching some awful action film during movie night.
